From the Dixie Art Colony Foundation
Photographs from Mark Andrew Harris
Top Photo – The DAC at Spring Lake | In 1934 and 1936 the Dixie Art Colony was held at Spring Lake located in the Prattville area near Highway 31, once known as the Bee-Line Highway.
The DIXIE ART COLONY FOUNDATION, established in 2015, is excited to announce that the organization has relocated from Wetumpka, Alabama, to the City of Prattville. According to Mark Andrew Harris, founder and director of the DAC Foundation, the reason for the move was multifaceted.
“When I founded the organization, the plan was to create a permanent home wherever we received the most interest and support. We seriously considered numerous communities, including Wetumpka, Tallassee, and Andalusia, and ultimately decided on Prattville.” Harris, a native of Wetumpka with strong ties to that community, said it was a tough decision to leave Wetumpka, but Prattville was the obvious choice.
One of many factors that contributed to selecting Prattville was its proximity to where the Colonists spent most of their time. The Dixie Art Colony held its first session in 1933 on the shores of Lake Martin. However, in 1934 and 1936, the Colony was held in the Prattville area. Beginning in 1935, with the exception of 1936, the Colony was held each year through 1948 in the Deatsville area, only a few minutes east of Prattville.
The DAC Foundation was founded with a clear mission to place greater emphasis on the research, documentation, and preservation of the legacy of Central Alabama’s unique and historic Dixie Art Colony. The primary goal of the DAC Foundation is to preserve and promote the history and legacy left by the Colony participants.
“We are dedicated to engaging, inspiring, and educating artists and the public at large about the colony. Our exhibitions and programs are designed to promote local tourism and inspire creative industry,” said Harris. The DAC Foundation has meticulously documented the participation of 148 artists, a testament to the Foundation’s commitment to preserving the Colony’s rich artistic heritage.
The Foundation held its first Prattville Lunch & Learn program on May 16, 2024, at the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce in Downtown Prattville. The turnout for the program was excellent and included guests from Selma, Clanton, Auburn/Opelika, Montgomery, Wetumpka, and Birmingham.
On Friday, August 2, 2024, the first DAC Prattville exhibition opened at the Prattville Creative Arts Center located at 342 South Chestnut Street in Historic Downtown Prattville. This exhibition will be followed by ongoing DAC exhibitions in Prattville. Through creative placemaking, the DAC Foundation is partnering with existing entities like the City of Prattville Cultural Arts Department to help shape the community around arts and cultural activities. The City of Prattville believes that supporting creative entities can pay substantial dividends in economic resilience, fellowship, cultural exchange, and physical community revitalization.
More About the DAC Foundation and its Mission:
Another significant part of the DAC Foundation’s mission is to make fine art more accessible in underserved communities. While small community art centers and outdoor art festivals spotlighting current local artists are popping up everywhere, opportunities in rural and suburban communities to view and learn about art found in many museums are rare.
Harris said, “This is an area where we can make a difference. Since our conception, we have held numerous exhibitions, educational programs, and other events spotlighting fine art in both large and small communities, such as Montgomery, Birmingham, Andalusia, Deatsville, Demopolis, Wetumpka, Tallassee, Dauphin Island, Millbrook and Jackson, Mississippi.”
While many of the DAC artists were considered Sunday Painters or novices, a substantial number of them, including Frank Applebee, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Arthur Stewart, and Richard Brough, became well-known art educators and fine artists, attaining regional and national acclaim. Artwork by many of the DAC artists can be found in the collections of many art museums, national publications, and exhibition catalogs. It is also important to note that some of the artists were instrumental in forming some of the South’s most important art museums.
The DAC Foundation holds the most extensive collection of artwork by Dixie Art Colony artists and related ephemera of any public or private institution. The collection consists of more than 1,600 works of art. The DAC Archives collectively includes over 1,000 restored vintage photographs and related documents.
More About the City of Prattville and the Surrounding Area:
Prattville is a vibrant, growing city with an estimated city population of 39,000. It is located directly on the busy I-65 corridor, approximately 15 minutes from major tourist attractions in Downtown Montgomery and approximately 60 minutes from Birmingham. The I-65 corridor, a major tourist route, is the state’s busiest and most densely populated corridor. The fact that the City of Millbrook, with a growing city population of more than 17,000 residents, and its new $100 million 17 Springs development is located right next door is also a big plus. These two cities, combined with the neighboring towns of Coosada and Pine Level, comprise a population base of more than 60,000 residences. A population base of this size can support an array of amenities and attractions that other communities considered cannot, such as a wide variety of local and national restaurants, large shopping venues, a branch of Central Alabama Community College, and the Alabama Nature Center.
Prattville is also home to Capitol Hill, part of the popular Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. The Judge at Capitol Hill is consistently ranked as one of America’s top courses. Golf Magazine named The Judge as one of 10 public courses in America worthy of hosting the U.S. Open. Prattville is also home to the Marriott Capitol Hill Hotel and Conference Center, one of 17 hotels in the City of Prattville.
Four impressive projects currently on the table in Downtown Prattville include a new multi-million-dollar museum and education center focused on the impact of Daniel Pratt, a new outdoor entertainment venue, major enhancements to Spillway Park, and an upscale restaurant in the historic Picker House located on Autauga Creek. The property for all four projects has been allocated, and the City of Prattville has budgeted $4 million to construct the new outdoor entertainment venue. These projects are part of a very successful ongoing effort designed to create a Downtown District to promote local tourism and improve the quality of life for area residents.
In 2023, The Mill at Prattville, a $37 million investment in historic preservation and adaptive reuse, opened its doors, offering 127 loft-style luxury apartments on Autauga Creek. The original mill building, constructed circa 1848, is within easy walking distance of Downtown shops and restaurants. Regarding Downtown redevelopment, Prattville has consistently been ahead of the curve since beginning its first Downtown revitalization project 22 years ago.
