Downtown Augusta is thriving with art and entertainment around every corner. Whether it’s plays, festivals, concerts or museums, this city has activities throughout the year that the Augusta University community can enjoy at a discount.
AU recently launched JagPerks, a program that provides special discounts to students, faculty and staff at participating local businesses, in collaboration with the not-for-profit corporation Destination Augusta, which promotes tourism in the Augusta area.
JagPerks offers members of the AU community discounts at certain area businesses providing a wide range of shopping, services, entertainment, food and more. A valid JagID must be presented at the establishment for discounts.
This fall and spring semesters, AU’s Jagwire is highlighting several of its JagPerks partners. This article in the series features art organizations participating in the JagPerks program.
Visit Augusta University’s JagPerks webpage for a full list of local partners, the addresses of the businesses and a description of each of the discounts.
Imperial Theatre
Located at 745 Broad St. in the heart of downtown Augusta, the historic Imperial Theatre originally opened in 1918 as a venue for vaudeville under the name The Wells, Augusta’s Beautiful Theatre.
One of the earliest recorded celebrities who visited The Wells was comedian and silent film star Charlie Chaplin, but before the end of 1918, the theater changed ownership and was renamed The Imperial Theatre.
Since then, hundreds of celebrities have graced its stage, including Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, the “Godfather of Soul” James Brown, world-famous jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, country musicians Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley of Lady A, and funk and soul band, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings.
“We’re celebrating our 106th anniversary this year, having been built in 1917 and opened in 1918,” said Charles Scavullo, the executive director of The Imperial Theatre. “After opening in 1918, the theater continued into the 1970s as a full-time movie theater, at which point, in 1981, it closed due to an economic downturn in the downtown area with the creation of the area’s two malls: Regency Mall and the Augusta Mall.”
But by 1985, new owners purchased the property, and the beautifully restored Imperial reopened with performances of the Augusta Opera’s “Die Fledermaus.”
“The new owners effectively saved the building and did some renovation work on the theater and reopened it as a performing arts facility,” Scavullo said. “It was primarily available for rent to groups like the Augusta Players, Augusta Opera and then Augusta Ballet, which is now Colton Ballet.”
Over the past 10 years, The Imperial Theatre has completed more than $2 million in infrastructure work and is beginning a $10 million capital campaign for additional renovations to the historic structure, Scavullo said.
Today, the Imperial offers audiences a wide range of shows and entertainment including upcoming events such as Funk You & Friends Halloween on Oct. 31, Grammy-award winning Christian singer David Phelps on Nov. 15, “The Nutcracker” presented by Colton Ballet Company from Nov. 29 through Dec. 1, “Annie” presented by The Augusta Players from Dec. 13-15, and The Prophecy Show performing the music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra on Dec. 18.
“We have recently begun collaborating with Will McCranie, who is a local musician and a businessman, to put together a few concerts that would draw younger crowds, like local college students,” Scavullo said. “Our next event is going to be a Halloween show featuring two local bands: the contemporary funk band, Funk You, and this year’s winners of the inaugural Build the Band Benefit at The Miller Theatre called YEET. In addition, local DJ Coco (Rubio) will be acting as emcee for the event.
“If that doesn’t speak to a younger demographic, I don’t know what does,” Scavullo added. “It should be a fun night.”
Augusta University students, faculty and staff with a valid JagID are offered 10% off “Imperial Theatre Presents” tickets, such as the Funk You & Friends Halloween show on Oct. 31.
“Any of these concerts that we are doing in the collaboration with Will McCranie, we offer a 10% discount under the JagPerks program,” Scavullo said. “In order to receive the discount, students, faculty and staff of Augusta University would need to purchase their tickets at the box office. But they could come downtown, have lunch and stop by and purchase their tickets. Or they could always buy their ticket the night of the show. We’d love to see them.”
Westobou
What began as a festival back in 2008, Westobou has evolved into a season of events and exhibitions in a year-round gallery space in downtown Augusta.
These days, Westobou Gallery is a contemporary white box space located at 1129 Broad St. that hosts five exhibitions per year focusing on emerging and experimental artists. The gallery, which is open six days per week and is always free for patrons and visitors, offers curated exhibitions by national, regional and local artists.
Westobou Gallery also has a MICRO Gallery, which offers 10 additional smaller shows throughout the year.
“Since 2020, we’ve been focusing more on year-round presence in the arts,” said Matt Porter, executive director of Westobou. “We are a non-profit arts organization that was created by The Porter Fleming Foundation to address the lack of contemporary art in the Augusta area.”
In the first show that he programmed at the Westobou Gallery since becoming the executive director about a year ago, Porter brought the works of Nashville-based artist Alex Lockwood to downtown Augusta.
In his sculptures, Lockwood repurposed materials to discuss issues related to gun violence, plastic waste and family dynamics.
“This was the first show that I got to pick that was from my own mind,” Porter said. “I wanted to do something that I thought was noticeable, that, when you walked in, it had a presence to it. I liked the idea that the scale would be whimsical, but I also wanted to do something that was about relevant topics in a contemporary way.”
Many of Lockwood’s pieces are “somewhat silly, fictional and fantastical, but with real meaning,” Porter said.
While Lockwood’s show ended on Oct. 19, Porter said several classes from the Department of Art and Design at Augusta University were able to visit the show.
“We’re very fortunate to have a good relationship with the art department at AU,” Porter said. “The thing that has been so cool about those visits has been seeing students who maybe are skeptical of environments like this or maybe don’t even know that this kind of gallery exists in downtown Augusta see it for themselves.”
“When those students came in it was like, ‘I didn’t know that there was something like this in our town. This is incredible,’ which is cool to witness,” Porter said. “That’s why we are here.”
Opening on Nov. 1 and running through Dec. 21 is “Seeds,” which is Westobou’s 10th annual juried exhibition of small works priced at $300 or less. The show features a variety of local and regional artists including Emily Bender, Caroline Clark, Heather René Dunaway, Abby Edwards, AP Faust, Hannah Lawler, Jocelyn Pope, Noah Reyes, Colin Russell and Nyala Yvonne offering work in various mediums.
Also, from Nov. 1-27, Westobou’s MICRO Gallery will offer “Seedlings,” an opportunity for all students in K-5 grades to exhibit their artistic talents. Canvases are provided for free on a first-come-first-serve basis, and the children’s work will be on sale for $30 each as a fundraiser for Westobou.
The following month, Westobou’s fall intern Terry Wilber, who is a student from Augusta University’s Department of Art and Design, will have a show called “Un*broken” in the MICRO Gallery from Dec. 6-21.
As part of the JagPerks program, AU students, faculty and staff will receive a free Westobou swag bag including a charcuterie board when they purchase tickets to the gallery’s “Curated Palette” experience, Porter said.
“The Curated Palette is a fun way to introduce yourself and maybe a small group of friends to the ideas of curating contemporary artwork while having fun with food,” Porter said. “We will talk about an individual object or an installation or an exhibition, and you will try and replicate a cheese board that channels some of the content of that show.”
Tickets for the Curated Palette are on sale through December. The cost is $160 for a group of up to six people or $30 per person.
“The nice thing about that event is that everybody loses some inhibitions because it’s just fun to play with food,” Porter said, laughing. “But also, most people leave with a greater sense of, ‘What could I do when I go to an art space?’”
Porter said he is proud of the mission of Westobou Gallery, and he encourages more of the Augusta University community to stop by and check out the upcoming exhibitions.
“Contemporary art is supposed to give us a little bit more energy or inspiration to confront the things that maybe we have lost sight of,” Porter said. “To me, the purpose is hopefully we engage in some kind of discussion about what is meaningful to us right now.
“Coming from a museum background, my goal is never to tell somebody how to feel,” he added. “What I hope for is that people engage in the artwork, and it makes them think.”
Sacred Heart Cultural Center
Any visitor driving along the Calhoun Expressway toward downtown Augusta can’t help but be in awe of the beauty of Sacred Heart Cultural Center along the city’s skyline.
In 1897, the first bricks were laid for the construction of Sacred Heart Church, located at 1301 Greene St. The enormous Romanesque-style church opened in 1900 to serve the Catholic community and be used as a school for children of all denominations.
But by 1971, the final mass was held at the church, and for 16 years the building sat vacant. Sacred Heart suffered vandalism over the years and was facing the prospect of being demolished.
“It’s true. Sacred Heart is a 150-year-old former Catholic church that was near destruction,” said Zachary Alvarez, the community engagement coordinator for Sacred Heart Cultural Center. “But in 1986, a young lady, Pat Knox, had the forethought to say, ‘This building is not going down.’ She convinced her father-in-law to purchase the property and turned it into the cultural center that we are today.”
Through the generous commitment of the Peter S. Knox family, the facility was rescued and completely restored, he said.
Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Sacred Heart features towering twin spires, dramatic arches, 15 distinctive styles of brickwork, 94 stained glass windows, a barrel-vaulted ceiling and intricately carved Italian marble altars.
“We reopened in 1987 as the non-profit that we are now,” Alvarez said. “We support ourselves through our Great Hall rentals, which hosts weddings, proms, choral concerts, civic functions and all kinds of fun events. We also have an art hall that features local and regional artists. Throughout the year, we have about seven exhibits, and we host an opening reception for each exhibit.”
In addition, Sacred Heart offers a gift shop full of merchandise ranging from home décor and accessories to regional books, art and pottery.
“We have about 65 consignors in the gift shop at the moment,” Alvarez said. “They are anything from authors to artists to crafts people.”
The former rectory building and the Sacred Heart School building house the administrative offices of local arts groups and other non-profit organizations, including the Greater Augusta Arts Council, Choral Society, Augusta Symphony, the Augusta Players and the Red Cross.
Tours of Sacred Heart, both guided and self-led, also take place daily, Alvarez said.
Augusta University students, faculty and staff with a valid JagID are offered one free historical audio tour as part of the JagPerks program.
“The entry to Sacred Heart and to tour the facility is free and open to the public Monday through Friday during our regular office hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but we also offer an audio tour for $5,” Alvarez explained. “It is about a 20-minute audio tour that allows visitors to go and tour the Great Hall and hear about the history and some key details about our background and about the building itself. But we offer that completely free through the JagPerks partnership to those students and members of the AU community.”
In addition to the daily tours, Sacred Heart offers several special events each year including the popular Garden Tour, Murder Mystery Dinner, Candlelight Concerts and the Sacred Heart Holiday Mark and Guild Bake Sale.
The next art reception and exhibit will feature local artist Lillie Morris and Atlanta artist Roxane Hollosi. The exhibit will run from Nov. 4 through Dec. 20.
Whenever visitors enter Sacred Heart Cultural Center for the first time, they are typically speechless, Alvarez said.
“Usually jaws dropped,” he said, smiling. “It’s quite a shock-and-awe experience, but all in a good way.”
While people think the outside is beautiful, they are mesmerized by the inside of Sacred Heart, he said.
“It’s one thing to see the structure from the outside and the beautiful brickwork with its different designs and styles of masonry. That’s incredible because modern-day masons would not be able to reconstruct a lot of it because they cannot do that style and technique anymore. It’s been lost to the ages,” Alvarez said. “But then on the inside, you get to see all the beautiful stained glass from the perspective it is meant to be seen, and then the structure and the columns and the arches are just so beautiful.
“When you visit Sacred Heart, you are filled with this joy and excitement and amazement of the craftsmanship of those in the past who put this together,” he added. “We would love it if more Augusta University students heard about Sacred Heart and got a chance to come visit us. It would be a chance to really share the history and share our story with them.”
Morris Museum of Art
Founded in 1985, the Morris Museum of Art is the oldest museum in the nation dedicated to the art and artists of the American South, featuring a collection that includes more than 5,000 works of art dating from the late-18th century to the present.
Currently located in the Augusta Riverfront Center at One 10th St. along the Riverwalk in downtown Augusta, the Morris Museum of Art was established by local businessman William S. Morris III, the founder of Morris Communications and former publisher of The Augusta Chronicle.
Morris established the museum in memory of his parents, William Shivers Morris Jr. and Florence Hill Morris.
While the Morris Museum was first incorporated as a non-profit foundation in 1985, the 1989 purchase of 230 paintings from the collection of Dr. Robert Powell Coggins, a renowned collector of Southern art, established the focus and direction of the museum, said Kevin Grogan, the director and curator of the Morris.
“The Morris officially opened on Sept. 24, 1992, so the museum is now 32 years old,” Grogan said. “The museum has been, over the length of its 32-year life, a vastly influential place, partly through publications, but mainly through exhibitions and the rediscovery of a lot of artists who otherwise might not have had any attention paid to them. So, we are proud of the impact the Morris has had on the art world.”
In the next few years, Grogan said the museum is planning to relocate to two historic properties located on Telfair Street in downtown Augusta.
“It’s not any secret that we are in the very early stages of preparing to move simply because we need more space than we have here,” Grogan said, referring to the Augusta Riverfront Center. “So, we’ve taken an option on the property that houses the old Medical College of Georgia building and the old Academy of Richmond County building. Sometime in the next few years, we’ll be moving over there.”
This new Telfair Street property will allow more of the museum’s permanent collection to be on display and provide additional space for the Center for the Study of Southern Art, a reference and research library housed in the museum that includes archives pertaining to artists working in the South, Grogan said.
In addition to the permanent collection galleries, the museum hosts more than 15 temporary special exhibitions every year.
From the permanent collection, the Morris Museum is currently offering an expansive exhibition in more than three galleries called, “Capturing the Immediate: Impressionism in the South,” which will run through Dec. 29.
This exhibition includes figurative, still-life and landscape paintings by many well-known and some previously undiscovered impressionist painters who worked in the South, Grogan said.
The Morris Museum of Art is also honoring its founder, William S. Morris III, with the exhibition, “Billy Morris: A 90th Birthday Celebration,” that will run through Jan. 5.
“We opened an exhibition of paintings and works on paper from the permanent collection that were all done in or around 1934, so it is an elaborate birthday card for Billy Morris for his 90th birthday,” Grogan said. “We wanted to do something to recognize 1934, his year of birth.”
The Morris is also showcasing the exhibit, “A Deep Harmony Thrumming in the Mixture: Recent Work by Kathryn Keller,” through Feb. 16. This exhibition includes 35 of Keller’s watercolor and oil paintings of landscapes, cityscapes, interiors and still-life subjects.
In addition, the Morris offers a variety of public programs throughout the year including Artrageous! Family Sundays, the Art Now artist lecture series, Music at the Morris, Create with Me, Films on Friday, Art at Lunch, as well as special film screenings, symposiums, lectures, book signings, exhibition openings, student and adult tours, and special programs for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers.
The museum also administers outreach programs to schools, hospitals, libraries and other organizations, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of the CSRA, the Kroc Center and the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, Uptown Division.
Before leaving the museum, guests are encouraged to explore the museum store at the Morris, which carries a wide array of artful gifts, many handcrafted by Southern artists and artisans, Grogan said.
As part of the JagPerks program, Augusta University students, faculty and staff with a valid JagID will receive 10% off the museum’s membership cost and 10% off any regular-priced merchandise in the gift shop. An academic annual membership for a student or teacher is $35. An individual adult membership is $55.
“We would like to see more Augusta University students visit the Morris Museum,” Grogan said. “I think it could serve as genuine enhancements of the college experience simply by, in our case, providing illustrations of some of the things that these students are currently studying.”
Greater Augusta Arts Council
When it comes to throwing a festival, Augustans can always rely on the Greater Augusta Arts Council to show the city how to celebrate.
Whether it is the Arts in the Heart of Augusta festival in September, the annual Wet Paint Party and Sale held in early spring or the Augusta Arts Awards in June, the Greater Augusta Arts Council helps connect Augusta’s arts community to arts lovers all year long.
Founded in 1968 by the Greater Augusta Chamber of Commerce, the Augusta Junior Woman’s Club and the Junior League of Augusta, the Greater Augusta Arts Council was formed to serve as an umbrella organization for the arts in Augusta.
In fact, the Greater Augusta Arts Council currently acts as Augusta’s public art agency and administers grant arts funds from the City of Augusta through the City Arts Grants Program.
The Arts Council also strives to facilitate new public art in the community as often as possible, which includes securing funding for and managing new public art. The Arts Council wants to help local artists turn their public art ideas into a reality.
As a JagsPerk partner, the Greater Augusta Arts Council is offering Augusta University students, faculty and staff with a valid JagID 10% off tickets for its event called, “Promenade & Paint: Augusta’s Public Art Experience” when using the code: AUGARTS10.
“Promenade & Paint” offers a public art tour of downtown Augusta’s sculptures and murals art, led by Augusta Adventures guide Michael Wolff, which will eventually take guests to an indoor mural painting experience hosted by local artist and business owner Baruti Tucker in his gallery at Humanitree House.
Tickets are $45 per guest, but groups of eight or more can receive a discount by calling 706-826-4702 during business hours or emailing the office.
Guests will be able to paint a portion of a mural, learn a bit about what it takes to make great public art and sip on a bottled cold-pressed juice of their choice.
“We only have two more months of Promenade & Paint this year, so we are also doing a giveaway for folks who take our public art survey,” said Heather Dunaway, the gallery and public art director for the Greater Augusta Arts Council. She explained that those who take the survey can enter to win two free tickets to one of Promenade & Paint’s four remaining tours in 2024.
This public art tour is made possible through the Authentic Augusta project in partnership with Destination Augusta, she said.
In addition to all of these exciting downtown events, the Greater Augusta Arts Council announced in September that the executive board selected local Humanitree House co-owner Denise Tucker as the Arts Council’s new executive director.
Tucker, who was chosen from more than 50 applications from across the country, recently told the community that she is thrilled about her new role.
“I am elated to be chosen as the next executive director of the Greater Augusta Arts Council during such a transitional and pivotal time,” Tucker stated in a September press release following the announcement. “I plan to build upon the strong legacy established over the last 27 years by expanding our role in the community as not only a steward of public art but as the heartbeat of the arts community, the essential link between artists and the wider public.
“My vision is for the Arts Council to be recognized as one of the driving forces that makes Augusta a place where art lives, works and thrives, thereby amplifying our cultural and economic influence.”