Wednesday, January 31, 2024–11:42 a.m.
-News Release-
Georgia Museums, Inc., along with Art in Bartow and The Cartersville-Bartow Chamber, is planning to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, February 1 at 11:30 AM to celebrate the completion of three museum-themed murals in the Downtown Cartersville parking deck.
The project, titled Traveling Through Time, consists of a series of three murals representing Tellus Science
Museum, Booth Western Art Museum, and Savoy Automobile Museum, respectively. It is the most collaborative project of Art in Bartow to date bringing together three of Cartersville’s museums, city and county government, and three local artists.
According to Art in Bartow Director Hannah Cook, the idea of murals in the parking deck was actually inspired by a similar project in Atlanta.
“We were chatting about amazing art pieces seen in other cities and a parking structure around the High
Museum of Art was mentioned,” said Cook. “The timing was perfect to reach out to the commissioner’s team with Bartow County as they had recently started on the Main Street Parking Deck. They graciously invited us into the conversation about the parking deck, shared building plans, and eventually approved the full concept.”
The murals are just one of many art installations in the Downtown Cartersville area. Director of the Downtown Development Authority, Lillie Read believes that these pieces of art contribute greatly to the aesthetic and overall experience of downtown.
“Downtown is unique as compared with any other part of the city and public art, like murals, is one of the ways that we contribute to that sense of place and unique experience,” said Read. “Public art is eye-catching, memorable, and it impacts downtown in a very real and positive way.”
Read also emphasized the important role that our local museums play in the overall cultural fabric of the city and county.
“I think our museums are critical pieces of community infrastructure and we are incredibly fortunate
to have the variety that we do, from the Booth, Savoy, and Tellus Museums, to the Noble Hill–Wheeler
Memorial Center, Rose Lawn, Bartow History Museum, and beyond.”
Recently, Only In Cartersville Bartow Tourism announced their new “Museum City,” brand. As Cartersville’s
destination marketing organization, they have echoed Read’s thoughts and plan to continue to leverage the museums as cultural assets to bring in tourism and boost the economy.
About the Artists
Kent Mullinax – Kent Mullinax is the Booth Art Academy Manager at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, GA. He has a job he loves at the best museum in the country in one of the best small towns in the country!
God has blessed him with a wonderful family and a place to go every morning that he has never
considered ‘work’. If he’s not with his family or at the Booth, he is either watching The Office or painting and listening to music (Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, The Foo Fighters, Tom Petty, and yes even U2).
“It all started with the cartoons I grew up watching on Saturday mornings (mostly Scooby Doo and my man Fat Albert!). Around that same time, I began to notice the stained-glass windows in the churches around Cartersville. With both the cartoons and the glass, the big shapes, bold colors, and heavy black outlines always grabbed my attention. I think it was the simplicity…few details, no distractions, and just enough information to get the point across. Add to that those gloriously colorful and mysterious skies in “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”, and several family members who exposed me to folk art when I was a kid and you have what I think are the biggest influences on my painting “style”. I learned from Potter WJ Gordy (a friend of my grandfather’s) that you could actually have a career doing something you loved. What a revelation that was! And I discovered artists William H. Johnson and Gabriele Munter (both expressionist painters) when I was in my 20’s. I get lost in their work even today. And that’s the point of it all.”
Faith Tatum – Cartersville, Georgia-based artist, Faith Tatum, has been honing her skills as an acrylic painter and sculpture artist for the pasted fifteen years. Originally an industrial design engineer creating interactive water features and product display equipment, Faith has blended her artistic skills with her thirty years of design experience to bring together the perfect blend of her two passions. Her evolution into painting and sculpting has allowed her to extend the range of her talent and venture out into new creative and interesting endives and a style that is immediately recognizable.
She has worked with the Walt Disney Corporation creating a computer-controlled water feature for the Little Mermaid show in Florida and a memorial water feature honoring Lillian Disney in California. In addition, she has done interactive water features for the 1996 Olympics and the Martin Luther King National Park in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a design completion winner for the Savannah Georgia Airport and a four-time Point-of-Purchase National Organization winner including the acclaimed Crystal Award.
Her paintings, drawings, and sculptures have been featured in the Smithsonian-rated Booth Museum and its associated gallery, the Smithsonian-rated Savoy Automotive Museum, in individual art shows, and a wide selection of group shows over the years.
Amy Watts – Growing up in the South did nothing to dampen Amy Watts’ Western dreams. Despite being born on the wrong side of the Mason-Dixon Line, she has relentlessly pursued her cowgirl aspirations. Amy and her husband James live on a farm in Statham, Georgia where they raise beef cattle, ride and train Quarter Horses, and enjoy numerous dogs, cats, and chickens. Her love of the Western lifestyle, American history, her faith, and her animals all contribute to the stories she tells in her paintings.
Amy Watts has been showing her art since 2011. She has participated in Cowgirl Up! in Wickenburg, Arizona for three years, as well as shows in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Ellensburg, Washington, Great Falls Montana, Cheyenne, Wyoming and several in her home state of Georgia. Amy had a one-woman show called “Cowgirl Dreams” at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia where her piece “Past History” is part of their permanent collection.
About Booth Western Art Museum
Booth Western Art Museum, an Affiliate to the Smithsonian Institution, is a 120,000-square-foot museum
located in Cartersville, Georgia, where guests are invited to see America’s story through contemporary
Western artwork, a Presidential Gallery, and Civil War art gallery. Open since August 2003, Booth Museum is the only museum of its kind in the Southeast and was named the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 USA Today’s 10BEST Reader’s Choice award Best Art Museum in the United States. To learn more about Booth Western Art Museum, visit www.boothmuseum.org.
About Tellus Science Museum
Tellus Science Museum is a world-class 120,000 square-foot Smithsonian Affiliate museum located in
Cartersville, GA just off I-75 at exit 293. The museum’s exhibits open minds and ignite a passion for science. Tellus features four main galleries: The Weinman Mineral Gallery, The Fossil Gallery, The Millar Science in Motion Gallery, and The Collins Family My Big Backyard. A digital planetarium and an observatory with a state-of-the-art 20-inch telescope is also located at Tellus. For more information about Tellus Science Museum, visit www.tellusmuseum.org.
About Savoy Automobile Museum
Savoy Automobile Museum connects people to the cultural diversity of the automobile. Whether you are a serious car collector, a weekend enthusiast, or simply a traveling motorist from Detroit to Daytona, Savoy aims to educate and entertain through changing exhibits, educational programs, and engaging experiences. The world-class museum campus sits on 37 acres in Cartersville, GA, and provides access to a variety of automobiles and a specially curated collection of original automotive art. For more information about Savoy Automobile Museum, visit www.savoymuseum.org