Art of Nettie Bean and students kicks off new program at Museum of Pell City
From the work of budding student artists to seasoned professionals, a burgeoning art community is finding a home at Museum of Pell City.
The museum has already hosted the Helen Keller Foundation of Alabama Art Show twice with plans to bring it back in September. Featuring the creations of students across the state with visual impairments, blindness, and/or deaf-blindness, this show is growing in popularity in Pell City because of these inspirational works.
The museum has presented the annual Duran Junior High School Art Show as well, giving students a home to display their works for the public to see.
Now comes the next level – providing a home for the entire art community.
“Our community is so blessed with talented artists of all mediums, but artists have long lacked a place they could call their own in terms of shows,” said Museum President Carol Pappas. “Before we even opened our doors in 2022, we talked of an eventual evolution to cultural arts center. Yes, we are a history museum, but we recognized the need to expand our reach and become a center for the art community, too.”
The museum’s board invested in infrastructure to create gallery space leading into the museum with a hanging wall system, ideal for shows and art displays. Because of the mezzanine-type venue, it is prominently visible to museum goers, but it is also piquing interest from the heavily traveled lobby of the municipal complex.
“It gives us an opportunity to reach more people – more opportunities to expose these creative works to the public,” Pappas said. “We’re excited about the potential.”
To kick of what the board hopes will be a regular event, noted artist Nettie Bean of Gallery of Eden and her students were the inaugural show, which opened in July and continued through early August.
Bean is an Alabama-based artist who creates stunning oil paintings of landscapes, wildlife and birds. After college, she became known for her “house portraits,” painting door-to-door for clients.
Her life-size eagle paintings are displayed at The Lodge at Guntersville State Park.
She is passionate about teaching and conducts weekly painting classes at the gallery she owns with husband Wally Bromberg.
Bean said she believes that art is a gift meant to be shared, and she strives to make original art accessible to all. “That’s precisely what we’re trying to do through this new program to showcase our art community at the museum, one we hope will grow and thrive for years to come.”
The Helen Keller Foundation of Alabama Art Show is slated for Sept. 11-27.
More exhibits on the way
In addition to its latest venture into art, the museum is planning even more events in the months to come.
It will unveil an outreach program this month that puts mini-exhibits in public places like schools, city hall and county courthouse. “The idea is to give the public a glimpse at what they might find at our 4,000 square foot museum,” Pappas said. “People just don’t realize the depth and scope of our museum, so we want to take it to them – at least a little part of it.”
The outreach exhibits’ theme is Find it at Museum of Pell City, and it shares nuggets of the historic stories, photos and artifacts we have to offer through compelling, custom-designed displays.
They encourage people to find out more at the museum, which is open Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is always free.
Coming soon is a model train exhibit that has been built by a team of volunteers over the past several months. The 17-foot display with a running train depicts the 1920s version of Pell City.
“It all began with a train,” Pappas noted, referring to the ‘first’ founding of the town in 1890 when Sumter Cogswell missed his train to Talladega, spent the night in Pell City and envisioned a town.
Nationally known artist Dirk Walker has donated his original painting of one of the train depots, and the board will be using it as a fundraiser for the museum along with selling numbered, matted prints of the original.
“We owe Dirk a debt of thanks for his generosity,” Pappas said. “He and his wife, Debbie, have been so supportive of our efforts. You can see all about him and his work in our museum, which features Pell Citians who have made a national name through their talents in art, music, sports and film.”
In November, the museum presents its annual Salute to Service, which will see its military section redesigned and expanded to better cover modern days wars in the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan.
It also will feature oral history videos from local veterans and St. Clair County District Attorney Lyle Harmon as keynote speaker at the Nov. 7 special program. He is a veteran of the second invasion of Iraq in the101st Airborne Division, 217th Calvary. He was a helicopter pilot flying reconnaissance missions.
“As you can see, we have lots in store for museum goers,” Pappas said. “Like history, it evolves. We aim to keep our programming fresh, giving people a reason to come and come back again to discover our rich history.”
