News: Clark Co. Cultural Art Center (23 Mar 2016)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Holets, Garrett, Luckett

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co, WI) 2/24/2016

Clark County Gets a Sneak Peak at Cultural Art Center

By Nancy Curtin

What started as a dream turned into a reality back in January, when two women who wanted to bring an art center to Clark County purchased the vacant United Methodist Church building and parsonage in Neillsville located at 201 E 4th Street.

Dr. Sarah Holets and Linda Garrett-Holets, founders of the Clark Cultural Art Center (CART), said, “The inspiration - has been the people who live in Clark County and in Neillsville. There’s been a mass of people wanting to bring art into the community but didn’t know how to do it.

“Our vision when we first came to Neillsville was to bring art to all ages. We decided to put this together and started looking throughout Clark County for a facility and found the perfect fit here.”

CART hosted its first youth art show March 12 and 13 showcasing the Artwork from 150 students from K through 12th grades from Neillsville, Loyal, Nasonville and St. Anthony’s Schools. Next year’s goal will be to have each school within the county represented.

The weekend event brought in over 250 people from various Clark County communities. Everyone was amazed with the early stages of transformation. Renovations will continue until the grand opening Mother’s Day weekend. The overall atmosphere was inviting to visitors of all ages.

The feedback received from the parents has been phenomenal. Parents were so excited to see their children gathering their crayons, colored pencils, and markers to let their creativity flow because they want to be in the next art show.

“It’s not just performing arts and visual arts, it’s actually six different forms of arts within arts; visual arts, culinary arts, music and dance; and in the future we will be doing theater and dramas along with writing and journalism,” Garrett-Holets added.

Some of the classes being offered in March and April are stained glass, acrylic painting, six-week oil painting and a culinary class. CART will also offer classes for pottery welding, cooking, journalism, yoga, crocheting and knitting. Some classes will be in a structured format, while others will be offered as an open class format.

The support from businesses, organizations, and individuals within Clark County and the surrounding communities has been enormous. Amber Luckett, WSAW Ch. 7 news reporter, is willing to volunteer her time to conduct a class on journalism and film editing.

CART is looking forward to the Spring into the Arts art tour April 23 and 24 and the art walk to be held this summer involving several businesses in the downtown area. Collaboration with the area school districts and the local library will be a contributing factor to the success of the programming at the center.

Garrett-Holets feels CART is promoting a variety of art geared for family interaction while providing education and enhancing individual grown along and quality of life.

The official grand opening is scheduled for May 7 and 8. Hours of operation will be Thursday through Sunday, with the rest of the week being devoted to private classes.

For more information, contact Linda Garrett-Holets at 715-937-5411, lindahgrants@gmail.com, Facebook: Clark Cultural Art Center, or http://www.ccartcenter.org.