The Steffen Thomas Museum of Art held its ‘Founder's Day Celebration’ on July 23, featuring a fundraising lunch in honor of its founder, Sara Thomas, and patrons enjoyed a delicious meal from Thomas Wilms Fine Catering & Special Events.
STMA Board President Don Roman welcomed all to the event, and Lisa Thomas Conner made a toast to her mother, Sara Douglass Thomas.
The Charlie Bonner Award for Advancing Art Education was awarded to Felicia Watkins, who starts her 24th year of teaching at Putnam County Elementary School in August.
In 2019-20, Watkins was named Teacher of the Year and she has been a major pillar of the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art for over 10 years. A wife and mother of two children in the Putnam County School district, Watkins has made it her mission to provide students with access to the arts.
Kevin Grogan, director of the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, spoke of his museum work for over 50 years in “Fashion Your Own Story.”
Grogan has held directorships at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Fisk University, and Cheekwood Museum of Art and was on the staff of The Phillips Collection. He has authored, edited, or contributed to dozens of publications during his long career and is a native of Washington, D.C.
Following the luncheon, four lots were auctioned off: 1) Lunch with Conner 2) VIP Printmaking Experience 3) Covington in the Spotlight and 4) Macon Excursion. The basket raffles were then drawn, in which treasures, finds and samples from some of the heartland’s sweetest and strangest small towns were to be found. An original Steffen Thomas HandPrint ‘Head of a Girl with Hat’ circa 1980, donated by STAR was also part of the raffle.
Upcoming events include the Annual Meeting on Aug. 20 followed by ‘Spoken Word Event’, which will feature performers and poets Linqua Franqa and Josina Guess.
On Oct. 1, The Master Prints, featuring artist-in-residence Chloe Alexander.
Support from sponsors, donors, members, and visitors is essential to the work of The Steffen Thomas Museum of Art, which is located at 4200 Bethany Road in Buckhead. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For further information, please visit www.steffenthomas.org; email: info@steffenthomas.org or phone (706) 342-7557.