Issue link: http://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/438233
T 12 thErE's a hum of activity from the courtyard of Kentuck Arts Center on this Thursday evening in historic downtown Northport. Visitors mingle while listening to sounds of local musicians. University of Alabama students cook homemade pizzas on a firing kiln, all sur- rounded by art of local artists. It's Art Night, a free community art event that Kentuck offers the first Thursday of every month. For an organization whose mission is to "perpetuate the arts, engage the community and empower the artist," Art Night is just one of many ways Kentuck is benefiting the arts across the state. Kentuck offers local artist exhibitions, a gallery gift shop, studio space for working artists, a clay co-op, art classes and an annual art festival. The organization was founded in 1971 after folk artist and visionary Georgine Clarke relocated to Alabama and be- came fascinated with Alabama art. She purchased gallery space and rented it to local artists to use as studios. More than 40 years later, Kentuck is taking that same space and transforming it into a new museum and work space that will better serve the community. "The 96-year-old building really is an anchor of down- town Northport," said Amy Echols, executive director of Kentuck. "We decided during this renovation we would put the time and effort into designing the facility to truly reflect Art for art's sake STORy By ALLISOn wESTLAkE PHOTOS COuRTESy OF kEnTuCk ARTS CEnTER The impact of northport's kentuck Arts Center on artists and the art community is felt not just in Alabama, but across the Southeast. Painter Michael Banks shows his art at the 43rd Kentuck Festival of Arts.