Tifton Scene July 2022 | Page 20

| Arts Center |

‘ See you at The Syd ’

Tifton Art Center Honors Longtime Art Advocate with Renaming

by Davis Cobb photography submitted

What was once a church in disrepair became a hub to celebrate and represent the arts in Tifton . Now , the center has evolved further to honor the efforts of one of the most prominent supporters of the arts in South Georgia .

Twenty-five years to the day after its opening , the Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage reopened its doors as the Syd Blackmarr Arts Center April 28 , taking a new name to honor the efforts of Syd Blackmarr , an advocate for the arts who has been instrumental in overseeing the formulation and success of several art programs across South Georgia .
A gala was held on the 25th anniversary of the museum opening to celebrate the renaming , with residents of Tifton and art advocates coming out in droves to celebrate the storied history of the museum , the woman whose name it now bears , and the next stage of life for a structure that has been a part of Tifton for more than a century .
Initially , the building was a Methodist church hardly used by the community and planned to be demolished . In the early 1990s , a group of Tifton residents , including former Tift County Commission Chairman Charles Kent , local physician Clay Dorminey and the Tifton Rotary Club , rallied together to campaign for its preservation .
Through their efforts , a grant was written to help refurbish the building , with local architect Roy Rankin , a descendant of Henry Harding Tift , the founder of Tifton and the original builder of the church , assisting in the restoration effort . From there , the building slowly began to take a new shape as the Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage .
Syd Blackmarr has had more than 40 years of experience in advocating for the arts across not only Tifton but southern Georgia as well , and many of the programs and organizations that have been formed in support of the arts across South Georgia are at least in some part thanks to her efforts .
20 TiftonScene | JULY 2022