Colquitt County Arts Center

by Jeff Ophime, Executive Director.  Courtesy of the Moultrie Observer.

The art center depends upon a number of important revenue streams to keep the art flowing to our community. Class tuition, private and corporate gifts, memberships dues, grants and space rentals makeup the bulk of the art center’s budget.

Every now and then I feel the need to remind everyone that the Arts Center has a number of different spaces to rent for meeting and special occasions. The revenue generated by the rental of space, chairs and tables makes a substantial contribution to the annual budget. I can think of several months when the rental income from a wedding reception allowed us to end the month in the black.

Events bring people into the Arts Center that may have not have wondered in just for the art. This works something like a sampling when you go to one of those mega supermarkets. “I had no intention of buying Chinese pot stickers, but the sample on the end of a toothpick resulted in a frozen one hundred count bag landing in my grocery cart!” One of the biggest challenges that many businesses have is getting customers to put that first foot through the door. Once you get that person in the door and they have a pleasant experience, they are likely to return.

The Colquitt County Arts Center has been renting the ballroom and other areas for a long time. Visitors to our Arts Center are often impressed with what a great facility we have here in Colquitt County. People will often pick up class and exhibit information as they leave from a wedding reception or class reunion that they attended in the ballroom. Hopefully they will return to take a class or to enjoy the next art exhibit.

The ballroom is the most popular space that is rented here at the arts center. There are additional rental spaces available for smaller functions or meetings. The McCall Gallery or the Vereen Gallery are well suited for smaller receptions. The board room is perfect for approximately 18 people that need a place to meet outside of the office. The Wright Auditorium seats 272 people and it can be used for large meetings or entertainment. The sculpture garden is a wonderful outdoor area that has been used for cookouts and wedding receptions in the past that have been great successes.

Please call the arts center for rental information or just stop by for a personal tour of this 40,000 square foot building. With that much space there will surely be something to make your next reception or meeting unique and memorable. You can also go to www.colquittcountyarts.com for a copy of the rental contract that includes detailed information about using the arts center for your rental needs. Renting space at the Colquitt County Arts Center is a great way to support the arts in Colquitt County.

We are quickly registering children for the many art, dance, music and theater classes listed in our new fall programming schedule. Please come by for a copy of the new fall schedule of classes and programs if you do not already have one. In addition to classes for the very young, we have a new dance program for middle and high school students along with a ballroom dance class for adults. The very popular senior art painting class that meets on Tuesday mornings is always looking for new individuals to join the group or maybe the new adult yoga class is more to your liking. We have added a new theater class and a manners class for 4 and 5 year olds. Chef Vee will return with more great cooking classes and a pine needle basket making workshop should be fun. Or how about a digital scrapbooking workshop followed by an opportunity to learn the art of calligraphy.