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Terrance Armstard/News-Times
Art Central: The South Arkansas Arts Center is the heart of the arts in El Dorado and Union County, and has been a vital cultural force for half a century. South Arkansas Arts Center: Serving the region over 50 years
By Janice McIntyre
City Editor
The Heart of the Arts — the South Arkansas Arts Center, is dedicated to performing and visual arts and has provided plays
and musicals with local talent, exhibits, classes for children and adults and many other commu- nity events for 52 years.
The arts center has been a vital part of El Dorado since that time and has influenced many lives throughout the years. The mission of the arts center is to promote, bridge, facilitate and support the ideas and forms of artistic appreci- ation, education, ability, confidence and cooper- ation.
Over half a century ago, El Dorado residents were organizing charity balls and other events to raise money to bring the arts to El Dorado under one roof. As far back as 1901, according to SAAC history, classes were being taught when and wherever space could be found. During the 1920’s oil boom, residents of this area attended operas and symphony music, alongside boxing matches and vaudeville.
Finally in the 1960s, the El Dorado Fine Arts Association raised the money to purchase the National Guard Armory located at the corner of Fifth Street and North Jefferson Avenue.
After renovation of the building, the new SAAC became the home of the El Dorado Art League, the Little Theatre of El Dorado and the South Arkansas Symphony.
Today a 22,500 square foot facility includes three gallery spaces, a ballet studio, a 206 seat theatre, a scene and costume shop, classrooms, a photography studio and offices which provide AIE (Artists in Education) residencies, monthly gallery exhibits, community theatre productions, classes in visual arts, ballet, photography, drama and music for people of all ages and people with special needs.
In 2014, the arts center celebrated “50 Years of SAAC” with a number of special events, including the highly acclaimed community-wide presentation of “Les Miserables” in April of that year, directed by Craig Schulman, who had per- formed the lead role of Jean Valjean in venues all over the world. It was performed by three different organizations – the South Arkansas Arts Center, the South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and the El Dorado High School Department of Theatre. The production included 15 musicians, 42 singers, with a cast of over 40 actors.
The 50th anniversary brought back the SAAC Lunch for a week during May of 2014, which was a favorite eating establishment in El Dorado for a number of years — run by volunteers with all
proceeds going to the arts center. Other special 50-year celebrations included Arts in the Hearts for Decades Exhibit, a concert by Guitarist Peter Fletcher, several exhibits, a premiere for the “50 Years of SAAC” film, a piano concert by Colton Peltier, “9 to 5 The Musical,” an exhibit of the permanent collection of the SAAC which includ- ed a variety of art work from local and inter- national artists, an exhibit of the works of the Louisiana primitive artist Clementine Hunter, the first El Dorado Film Festival and a touring performance of “Zinnias – the Life of Clementine Hunger an Opera.”
A special exhibit of the works of Arkansas’ native son Carroll Cloar graced the galleries at the arts center during November and December 2014, and the final event to commemorate the milestone – “50 Years on Stage at the SAAC Encore,” included performances that paid tribute to the many memorable performances presented throughout the years at the SAAC by over 35 dedicated community theatre actors, singers and entertainers.
For the Encore, actors and artists performed numbers from productions presented in the 1960s as the SAAC, such as “Guys and Doll,” “The Glass Menagerie,” “South Pacific,” “The
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El Dorado NEWS-TIMES – Friday, December 16, 2016 – 7