Welcoming in a new year is an exciting time full of inviting possibilities. For many, New Year’s Eve is an occasion to enjoy a respite from daily tasks, and instead dedicate a moment or two to reflection before prioritizing aspirations and setting actionable goals for the year to come.

Here at the Foothills Arts Center, we’re looking back with gratitude at the adventures that filled the past year. Early in the year, we signed a purchase agreement on our new building, leading to officially closing on the property at the end of June. Since then, we’ve stayed busy in the best possible way, working with contractors on system repairs and upgrades, updating spaces that were previously in disrepair to create classrooms and artist studios, and securing funding and grants from foundations and private citizens to aid in offsetting the cost of bringing new life into an old building.

An endowment gift from Jeff and Natalie Eidson at G&B Energy enabled us to open our Eidson Craft Gallery early in the summer, in honor of Jane Boyles Eidson and Fred Greene Eidson. For our Merry Maker’s Market during the peak holiday season, the gallery featured the work of over thirty local artisans, and will continue to promote the boundless talent in our region in the year to come. Foothills Arts Council Board President Marianne Luther helped advance her passion for ceramics by giving generously to fund the renovation of a 4,000 square foot studio that will serve as new home of Clayworks, where we look forward to launching ceramics classes and courses this spring.

Over the past twelve months, we’ve created a waitlisted violin-making program under the leadership of renowned master luthier Joe Thrift (who, consequently, was also honored for his work in the February 2021 issue of Our State Magazine featuring their Made in NC Awards, a prestigious recognition). Students have traveled from across the country for the opportunity to study under Thrift.

In other news relating to programming development, Director of the Yadkin Valley Fiber Center Leslie Fesperman recently achieved the Master Weaver Certification from Olds College, an ambitious goal that was years in the making. In addition to her continued commitment to offering entry- and intermediate-level weaving and tapestry courses, this certification will allow her to teach advanced courses, attracting visitors nationwide to our town.

We hosted the Tapestry Weavers South New Works exhibition in the summer along with their annual retreat, and welcomed over a hundred guests to artist Tory Casey’s Community and Culture exhibit to close out the year. In the time between, visitors enjoyed outdoor cinema during our Sunset Movie Series in the month of October, and we had the privilege of hosting Elkin’s Light Up Night in early December, a community-wide celebration of the holiday season.

Our affiliates enjoyed successful events with the Roots Music Fest in June, the tenth annual Reevestock Music Festival in August, and four consecutive plays produced by the Foothills Theatre throughout the year. In other community arts achievements, our friends at the Reeves Downtown School of Music (located at our former Church St. location) launched the Junior Appalachian Musicians (J.A.M) program for the young musicians in our town!

Thanks to your generous giving during our triple-match fundraiser on Giving Tuesday in November, and through mail-in contributions over the course of the year, our annual fund drive was significant. Your contributions in this unprecedented time has allowed us to continue in our mission to foster community and creative practice through arts education, collaboration, and entertainment, and we are so grateful to our members and sponsors for valuing the importance of the arts in Elkin and beyond.

The year ahead is certain to be an exciting and creative journey full of ‘new.’ A new logo and website, new studio artists, instructors, and collaborations, new classes and courses for youth and adults, new building developments, and much more. With your gracious support and encouragement for our mission, we are confident that the future of the Foothills Arts Center is full of promise.

Thank you for spending a moment to remember the past year with us, and we wish you a joyful New Year!

Sydney Sieviec, Assistant Director