The Alabama Center for the Arts (ACA) is pleased to announce the opening of the annual juried Festival of the Cranes Art Exhibit in the Center’s Walking Gallery on Friday, Jan. 10.

The show will be held in conjunction with the Friends of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Association’s annual Festival of the Cranes, which will take place from Friday through Sunday, Jan. 10-12, in Decatur. The exhibit will be free and open to the public.

To celebrate, the ACA will be open with special weekend hours:

— Friday, Jan. 10, from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

— Saturday, Jan. 11, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

— Sunday, Jan. 12, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

All students, faculty, staff, adjuncts, and alumni of Athens State University, Calhoun Community College and the Alabama Center for the Arts were eligible to enter the juried show.

This year, 37 pieces of artwork by 21 artists will be featured in the show. All pieces of artwork featured in the exhibit were inspired by nature, whooping cranes, sandhill cranes and other nature-related subjects. The exhibit will remain open until Wednesday, Feb. 19.

This year, Robert Bean served as the juror of the Festival of the Cranes show. Bean is a part-time faculty member in Studio Art at the University of Alabama — Huntsville. He uses his art as a way to communicate with and understand the world around him.

Because we all see the world through our own perceptions, Bean tries to create narrative paintings that incorporate personal subject matter and symbols while using more universal themes and archetypes to create a series of paintings that work as a whole. He earned his M.F.A. from Louisiana State University and his B.F.A. from Mississippi State University.

In addition to the art exhibit, the ACA will be hosting other Festival of the Cranes activities from January 10-12. These events include:

— Print Magic! art exhibit in the Main Gallery

— Carol Cook Puckett’s Play, “Thank You, Rachel”

— International Crane Foundation VP of North American Programs

— Make & Take Art Activity by ACA Art Faculty: Paper Plate Birds

— Christopher Joe Presentation: “Building Tourism Through Small Ecotourism Projects”

— Robin Bailey: “Nestwatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology”

— Timothy Joe Art Demonstration

— Southern Exposure Films

— Vicky Smith (The Bat Lady)

— Dr. Matthew Niemiller: “Cave Life of WNWR”

— Jon Armbruster:  “Auburn University’s Dino Egg: A Short & Long Tale” and “Fish Under Alabama”

— Dr. James McClintock: “Drug Discovery in the Antarctic Seas” and “Diving Under Antarctic Ice”

— Painting Class with Tracy Roberts McCann

— Stephanie Schmidt, International Crane Foundation Coordinator

— Jimmy Stiles: “Reptiles”

— Hillary Hankey: “Enhancing Reintroduction Efforts in Southern Ground Hornbills Through Cross Disciplinary Knowledge”

The Alabama Center for the Arts was also pleased to announce the opening of its newest exhibit, Print Magic!. It will remain on display in the Center’s Main Gallery until Friday, Feb.14.

An Opening Reception will be held at the Alabama Center for the Arts on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 5:30 p.m. The exhibit and reception are both free and open to the public.

Printmaking is an art-form that promotes community, experimentation and play. Print Magic! showcases 43 works of art from a variety of national artists who push the boundaries on what can be achieved through print media.

The show is designed to introduce its audience to new media and a range of concepts that challenge perceptions. The exhibition includes large, sculptural prints, lithographs and other traditional print media, risograph-printed comics and fine book artworks.

“Print Magic! is made up of a group of incredible artists and I am beyond excited to have had the opportunity to showcase them,” Tara Segars, Art Instructor at Calhoun Community College and exhibit curator, said. “I believe the work will resonate with a lot of people, and our community will leave feeling excited by the possibilities in printmaking.”

The Alabama Center for the Arts is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.

Events are free and open to the public with the exception of Tracy Roberts McCann’s painting class. A full schedule of events can be found at https://www.friendsofwheelernwr.org/events.

For more information about the 2025 Festival of the Cranes, please visit https://www.friendsofwheelernwr.org/foc-2025 or the Festival of the Cranes Facebook page, Festival of the Cranes at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.