THE GADSDEN ARTS CENTER & MUSEUM – Quincy, Florida

The thriving arts center and museum offers a broad range of interpretive and studio art programs centered on an exhibition calendar of top regional to major national and historically important art exhibitions. The museum features a Permanent Collection that includes 54 works of art with the majority of artwork as examples of as Southern Vernacular Art.Southern Vernacular Art Exhibit
The artist’s work is often described as idiosyncratic as found materials are used in unique, unprecedented, and characteristic styles. The artists often incorporate symbols from their immediate regional American cultures and more distant African cultural roots.Most often, the work is created from found materials like plywood, house paint, discarded metal, and cardboard. A portion of the Southern Vernacular Art Collection travels to other museums, educating the public about these often overlooked artists.About the Museum
In 1989, local artist Beth Appleton and her husband David Harbaugh developed Art in Gadsden: a juried exhibition of fi art. Organized by the community and managed by the Quincy Mainstreet Program during its initial years, Art in Gadsden was originally hosted in empty storefronts on the courthouse square. What began as a small annual art exhibition has morphed into an American Alliance of Museum Accredited Museum with a state of the art exhibition space, a leader in the
Florida art community, with top scoring state grants and innovative educational and exhibition programming.The Gadsden Arts Center (GAC) was incorporated in
1994 ,as Art in Gadsden grew and community feedback indicated the need for more exhibitions of fine art and art education. Originally GAC was housed in a small historic building near downtown Quincy.

In 1997, the Bell & Bates Hardware Store, situated on Quincy’s historic square for 85 years, sought a new location. The owners, Mark and Patsy Bates generously donated the 1912 Bell & Bates building to the Gadsden Arts Center, and the newly hired Executive Director, Zoe Golloway, accepted the gift with an enthusiastic plan. Golloway and community members researched and drove more than 1,000 miles to design the types of exhibitions, educational activities, mission, vision, and organizational goals that now guide Gadsden Arts, Inc. Led primarily by private donations, Gadsden Arts, Inc. raised $1.4 million to renovate the hardware store into the state of the art museum facility it is today.

On March 1, 2016, the Gadsden Arts Center was awarded the highest honour for a museum in the United States – American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Accreditation an in July 2016, Gads- den Arts was pleased to share an addition to the organization’s name that reflects its status as a nationally accredited museum: Gadsden Arts Center & Museum. Gadsden Arts is a “Center” – a community gathering place – and a “Museum” that collects, preserves, and shares important works of art, hosts culturally and historically meaningful exhibitions, and promotes tourism.

13 North Madison Street
Quincy, FL 32351

(850) 875.4866

HOURS
Monday Closed
Tuesday- Saturday 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday Closed