[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and The St. Joe Company announced that the Ogden @WaterColor would be closing on Monday, September 7, 2009, due to the continuing impact of the economic downturn. This will be a permanent closing of the Ogden space at WaterColor.[/FONT]
“[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Unfortunately, the existing economic downturn continues to burden commercial and philanthropic endeavors, and few us of have been exempt. It is with sadness that we announce that the popular photography exhibition, ‘Picturing the South: People, Land, Architecture and Cities,’ will be our last in the WaterColor galleries,” said Dr. J. Richard Gruber, Director of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans. Rod Wilson, of The St. Joe Company, said that “The Ogden@WaterColor opened during what has turned out to be one of the most difficult economic environments in recent memory and it will not be possible to sustain its continued operation at WaterColor.” [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Opening in WaterColor on July 3, 2008, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, dedicated to the art and culture of the American South, partnered with The St Joe Company to bring the Museum’s exhibitions and programming to the 30-A community, located in Northwest Florida. During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the Ogden@WaterColor showcased artists including: Hunt Slonem, Richard Sexton, William Christenberry, Birney Imes, Eudora Welty, Jerry Uelsmann, Maggie Taylor, William Dunlap, Linda Burgess and Maggie Dunlap, among others. Lectures, educational programs and school outreach initiatives, featuring these artists and others, were offered to educational institutions in and around Walton County. Literary and musical programs were also presented to local and regional audiences. [/FONT]
“[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The success of this season’s exhibitions and the growth in new members during the summer membership drive would suggest that there is a demand for the types of educational programs and art exhibitions that we held in WaterColor,” says Gruber. Wilson notes, “We feel that the Ogden@WaterColor has been successful in achieving its cultural outreach in Northwest Florida.” [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Although the Ogden satellite museum space at WaterColor is closed, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, The St. Joe Company and the 30-A community will continue to explore other cultural and creative opportunities to serve the 30-A community in the future. [/FONT]
