Far right: Booth at Art Attack festival in the early 1990s, part of the fundraising for an architect's drawing to illustrate the vision for the expanded Arts Center
The Lyndon House Arts Foundation By Jenny Williams
The Lyndon House Arts Foundation played a remarkable role in securing for Athens the 40,000 square foot expanded arts center and restoring the original arts center to its grandeur as a prominent house of the second half of the 19th century. Established in 1993, this group of artists, arts patrons and community leaders, began to visualize how the arts center could grow to accommodate the broad demands of the outgrown arts center as it then existed in the original Lyndon House Arts Center. The Foundation has continued to Mary Padgelek serve as a support for the Arts Center By far my favorite memory and height of in both service and gratefulness for Lyndon House Arts Center funding, playing a happened in September 2004 when the first vital role in its life. performance run of my musical “Hands of the Spirit” was produced by Athens Creative Theatre and staged in the front gallery with the backdrop of the two staircases. The stage was constructed between the staircases and the orchestra was seated upstairs in the atrium over the room. This all happened because of the positive, adventurous spirits and expertise of Lyndon House staff, specifically the vision of Nancy Lukasiewicz , and director of Athens Creative Theatre, Tom Coleman. They both said, “Yes, why not?” The first performance was in conjunction with an extensive folk art exhibit organized by Tim Flinn.
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Many artists and community members joined together in 1974 when the Lyndon House Arts Center was first conceived as Athens’ first governmentsponsored visual arts program. Through years of growth LHAC experienced “Hands of the Spirit” is scheduled for its third incredible success. performance run this February. Terry Powell, The center served present director of Athens Creative Theatre, local artists as an directed it at the Morton Theatre in 2007. I am hoping to have more future perforexhibition space, mances of “Hands of the Spirit,” yet I will provided both always remember that it got its start—its first youth and adult performance-- at Lyndon House Arts Center! classes, meeting space for many arts and community groups, a summer day camp for children and annual events such as the craft market, juried exhibition and the Harvest Festival. By the early 90s the space in the brick building just couldn’t meet program demands. It was time that LHAC expanded.
Photo: Ronnie Lukasiewicz