HISTORY

The Highland Arts Council (HAC) was developed in 2003 to actively promote the arts in and around the community of Highland, through a showcase for local artists and educational opportunities for members of the community to be exposed to the arts. HAC and Art in the Park are governed and organized by dedicated volunteers. The major project is Art in the Park, an annual (2004 – 2021) fine arts event featuring fifty (50) to seventy (70) professional artists. The artistic categories include sculpture, mixed media, wood, fabric and fiber, painting, glass, clay, jewelry, photography, drawing/pastels, and graphics/print making. The two-day indoor and outdoor exhibition and preview party every October brings 9,000 art enthusiasts to the show and awards up to $9,000 in prizes to the exhibiting artists. There is no attendance fee and free parking for attendees. The team is always looking for ways to show creativity and the arts in unique ways. Culinary Arts was used several years by offering Dueling Desserts and Pancake Dan to entertain the attendees. They saw what extremes can be achieved using the medium of food rather than traditional art products. Four of the dance studios in Highland joined forces to present a 3-minute “flash mob” of dancers at Art in the Park in 2016. It exposed visitors to another aspect of the arts and brought in the families of the dancers to view the visual arts in the exhibition. Local musicians will keep your toes tapping by listening to the live music of the SIUE Jazz Band and Jazz Combo, Heartland Community Chorus, the students of Highland Music School, and The Funk Ward. The local talent is amazing and should be appreciated by all who attend. Youth are enticed to buy art at the Art Gallery…Just for Kids where children from 5 – 18 choose art donated by the exhibiting artists. Children choose without the influence of parents or guardians. Youth may also create their own art within the Kids Kreation area also presented at Art in the Park. While art lovers are in Highland, they will be astounded by the murals and donated art featured on the Art Walk. This self-guided tour will give you a great view of the dedication of Highland City Council to the arts. The most recent addition is the mural due to be completed during Art in the Park on the west wall of the Weinheimer Community Center on the corner of 9th and Pine Streets. Robert Fishbone, a well-known muralist from St. Louis will be painting the mural made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Highland Arts Council’s mission is to create a forum for people who share a love and interest in the ARTS; to promote local appreciation for the ARTS through community events that create enthusiasm and add cultural value; to provide a venue for the appreciation and exposure of local visual, literary, and performing artists; to encourage community access to professional visual, literary, and performing artists and a variety of arts forms, music, dance, literature, and theater; to foster and promote community youth involvement in the Arts, whether visual, written, or performing. All people and businesses are welcome to become members and help in our mission. Come! Enjoy the City and see how Art in the Park has grown and how the Highland Arts Council cares for art in the city of Highland.