Murphy – The lobby and offices of the former Entegra Bank at the intersection of Hiwassee and Peachtree streets downtown are changing. Just like the beginning stages of a butterfly, it is morphing into what will be a beautiful display of colors.
Hand trucks, paint and power drills have become the new busy at the old bank, as volunteers from the Valley River Arts Guild are hard at work replacing, fixing and painting the interior. The Murphy Art Center is moving to 12 Peachtree St., as it has outgrown its current space. Although the new location is just a “hop, skip and a jump” away from where they are today, the work is exhausting and nonstop.
The Valley River Arts Guild purchased and closed on the new building this month for $775,000. No grants nor endowments were used to fund the purchase – in fact, “several generous members of the Arts Guild put up some of their own money for the down payment,” President Debra Vanderlaan said.
The new building will offer bigger spaces to accommodate the growing amount of artwork as they now have 60 artist members. There will be a classroom set aside for folks who want to learn one of a variety of crafts, such as painting or making pine-needle baskets. The art gallery will be big, open and clean. Everyone will be welcomed to stop in and enjoy the local talent.
“This will be the biggest thing our area has ever seen. We love this town and our community and our goal is to become an art destination,” said Vanderlaan, adding, “The community is going to benefit from what we’re doing.”
The Valley River Arts Guild is planning to have their grand opening on the first Friday in November. The only thing that will prevent that from happening will be the lack of internet.
“We’re counting on Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corp. to get us the internet,” Vanderlaan said. “We need it done, it’s the only thing that will keep us from opening.”
The new outside area will provide plenty of room for Kids’ Club activities, and one potential idea is an outdoor sidewalk chalk festival. Other events utilizing the new space will include outdoor art shows, music and other various festivals.
The Valley River Arts Guild is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, doing business as the MAC. They have 60 artist members, all who volunteer their time on various projects and tasks to help create and maintain a community of artists. Its mission statement and goal is to unify the community around the arts, enhance the livability of our town and region as an art-centric community, and support the talent and creativity of the artists in our community.
The Arts Guild also brings the community the popular monthly First Friday Art Walk as well as the Murphy Art Xplosion, which has displayed 48 art panels on the sides of downtown buildings; that number will soon be increasing to 70. The Arts Guild also offers kids, youth and adult art class programs, an annual high school and middle school Student Art Show, as well as an annual Silent Auction.
The Arts Guild and the MAC have grown fast from humble beginnings 14 years ago on the second floor of the Valleytown Cultural Arts Center in Andrews, without air-conditioning nor heat, up a steep staircase with no elevator. Visitors were rare, and the Arts Guild was only open a couple days per week back then.
In 2010, a couple of Arts Guild members attended a Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce business meeting at the Valley River Merchants Building at 33 Valley River Ave. in downtown Murphy. Members instantly saw the potential for showcasing art shows in the long, wide hallways of that renovated building.
The Arts Guild will need help from the community to keep the MAC going, as the mortgage payments for the new building will far exceed its current payments. The Living Legacy is a donor program that allows those who can help financially to do so, with donations starting at $1,000.
The MAC will be open seven days a week, and every Friday it will be open in the evenings. For details or to donate, call the Valley River Arts Guild at 828-360-3038 or Vanderlaan at 561-601-6484, and visit www.ValleyRiverArts.com.