By Kevin Lee Associate Editor

Spring is in full flower and new growth abounds. Nowhere is that growth more evident than at Gulf ArtSpace, Fairhope’s enclave of artistic adventure.

The first development at Gulf has been the establishment of a new business board for the non-profit art house. First revelation of the new body caught some area arts mavens by surprise and raised a few eyebrows as well. Concerns were passed around as to whether this would somehow taint the lofty ideals that have governed Gulf to this point. Gulf gallery director Simeon Coxe assured Artifice that there need be no worry. “They don’t even have a vote on the Board of Directors,” explained Coxe.

Coxe felt the business board was a necessary inclusion. “You know, we would go through this cycle,” said Coxe, “where we would get a grant and be rich for a while then we’d be poor again before we knew it. We needed this to kick things up another notch so that Gulf could blossom into what its possibilities.”

The idea for the new board came from Gulf co-founder Dr. Lynn Yonge. “Lynn’s idea was to create an advisory board of business people that could set-up a fundraising procedure,” said Coxe. He reiterated that the new board’s role would not influence the direction of the art in any way. “These guys are there to make sure we can do things like have air conditioning, keep the electricity on, keep the bills paid, have the lawnmowing done and stuff like that,” clarified Coxe.

Coxe’s recitation of business board members reveals the obvious fiscal slant as its membership includes bankers, entrepreneurs, politicos and others with more pragmatic pursuits. Familiar advocates of Gulf like Stephen Savage, Wendy Robertson, Diane Davis, Pauline Anders, Felicia Olds, Peter Faust and Gloria Tullos dot the lineup.

Dr. Yonge serves on both the boards, acting as an intermediary between them and the closest thing the business folks have to a vote with the directors.

“We still have a board of directors made up of artists,” assured Coxe. Along with he and Yonge, the board is comprised of David McCann, Bruce Larsen, Aira Rogers, Ame’rica Gallaspy and Wanda Sullivan. Peter Favier recently resigned from the body and Sullivan tried to follow suit. It seemed she felt the pressures of motherhood more demanding of her time but continual pleas from the other board members coaxed her into staying.

Other new developments include an educational concept that has met with resounding acclaim. “We started an art workshop that we wanted to take beyond the usual ‘Fun With Art’ thing you see offered to kids,” said Coxe, “where they cut out construction paper and make giraffes out of popsicle sticks. We want this to be instrumental. We’re teaching kids about using various mediums, about composition and about the role of art. Especially, we’re teaching them about the role of alternative art and how important things have always been done by rebels. We’re trying to give them a foundation that is solid.”

The workshop was made possible by a grant from the State Council on the Arts and its initial inception was better received than foreseen. “We had a one-day event and the kids came in droves,” said Coxe. “We had about 150 kids from the neighborhood come by, which just shows the need for this kind of thing around here. Evidenlty theses children are art-starved. You know Fairhope has that whole ‘arts and crafts’ thing with that festival, but it’s a lot more economically-driven than anything else.”

The next bloom on the Gulf tree is their inaugural film festival set to run day-long on Sat., April 8. This is the first time, in Artifice memory anyway, that such a bold adventure has been attempted in the Mobile Bay area and it’s high time, especially in light of the massive civic ego regarding Mobile’s mythological history as a cosmopolis. Coxe’s vision for the film festival’s future includes including more work from local artisans and a slate of awards similar to those handed out at other festivals. More details on the event can be found in this issue’s Reel World column.

Area cultural denizens should count their blessings at the fruit possible from the earnest artistic cultivation by Yonge and Coxe. Without their labors, the harvest would more bare and the intellectual diet more paltry, indeed.

Kevin Lee is Lagniappe associate editor. Contact him at klee@lagniappemobile.com.

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