Original Press Release:
Mark Harris, Dixie Art Colony Foundation
334-328-0730
August 5, 2024
Prattville, Alabama—The Dixie Art Colony Foundation, established in 2015, is excited to announce that the organization
has relocated from Wetumpka, Alabama, to the City of Prattville. According to Mark Andrew Harris, founder and
director of the DAC Foundation, the reason for the move was multifaceted. “When I founded the organization, the plan was to
create a permanent home wherever we received the most interest and support. We seriously considered numerous communities,
including Wetumpka, Tallassee, and Andalusia, and ultimately decided on Prattville.” Harris, a native of Wetumpka with strong
ties to that community, said it was a tough decision to leave Wetumpka, but Prattville was the obvious choice.”
One of many factors that contributed to selecting Prattville was its proximity to where the Colonists spent most of their
time. The Dixie Art Colony held its first session in 1933 on the shores of Lake Martin. However, in 1934 and 1936, the
Colony was held in the Prattville area. Beginning in 1935, with the exception of 1936, the Colony was held each year
through 1948 in the Deatsville area, only a few minutes east of Prattville.
The DAC Foundation was founded with a clear mission to place greater emphasis on the research, documentation, and
preservation of the legacy of Central Alabama’s unique and historic Dixie Art Colony. The primary goal of the DAC Foundation
is to preserve and promote the history and legacy left by the Colony participants. “We are dedicated to engaging, inspiring, and
educating artists and the public at large about the colony. Our exhibitions and programs are designed to promote local
tourism and inspire creative industry,” said Harris. The DAC Foundation has meticulously documented the participation of
148 artists, a testament to the Foundation’s commitment to preserving the Colony’s rich artistic heritage.
The Foundation held its first Prattville “Lunch & Learn” program on May 16, 2024, at the Prattville Area Chamber of
Commerce in Downtown Prattville. The turnout for the program was excellent and included guests from Selma, Clanton,
Auburn/Opelika, Montgomery, Wetumpka, and Birmingham. On Friday, August 2, 2024, the first DAC Prattville exhibition
will open at the Prattville Creative Arts Center located at 342 South Chestnut Street in Historic Downtown Prattville. This
exhibition will be followed by ongoing DAC exhibitions.. Through creative placemaking, the DAC Foundation is partnering
with existing entities like the City of Prattville Cultural Arts Department to help shape the community around arts and
cultural activities. The City of Prattville believes that supporting creative entities can pay substantial dividends in economic
resilience, fellowship, cultural exchange, and physical community revitalization.
More About the DAC Foundation and its Mission:
Another significant part of the DAC Foundation’s mission is to make fine art more accessible in underserved communities.
While small community art centers and outdoor art festivals spotlighting current local artists are popping up everywhere,
opportunities in rural and suburban communities to view and learn about art found in many museums are rare. Harris said,
“This is an area where we can make a difference. Since our conception, we have held numerous exhibitions, educational
programs, and other events spotlighting fine art in both large and small communities, such as Jackson, MS, Montgomery,
Birmingham, Andalusia, Deatsville, Demopolis, Wetumpka, Tallassee, Dauphin Island, and Millbrook.”
While many of the DAC artists were considered Sunday Painters or novices, a substantial number of them, including Frank
Applebee, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Arthur Stewart, and Richard Brough, became well-known art educators and fine artists, attaining
regional and national acclaim. Artwork by many of the DAC artists can be found in the collection of many art museums,
national publications, and exhibition catalogs. It is also important to note that some of the artists were instrumental in
forming some of the South’s most important art museums.
The DAC Foundation holds the most extensive collection of artwork by Dixie Art Colony artists and related ephemera of
any public or private institution. The collection consists of more than 1,600 works of art. The DAC Archives collectively
includes over 1,000 restored vintage photographs and related documents.
More About the City of Prattville and the Surrounding Area:
Prattville is a vibrant, growing city with an estimated city population of 39,000. It is located directly on the busy I-65
corridor, approximately 15 minutes from major tourist attractions in Downtown Montgomery and approximately 60 minutes
from Birmingham. The I-65 corridor, a major tourist route, is the state’s busiest and most densely populated corridor. The
fact that the City of Millbrook, with a growing city population of more than 17,000 residents, and its new $100 million
“17 Springs” development is located right next door is also a big plus. These two cities, combined with the neighboring
towns of Coosada and Pine Level, comprise a population base of more than 60,000 residences. A population base of this
size can support an array of amenities and attractions that the other communities considered cannot, such as a wide variety
of local and national restaurants, large shopping venues, a branch of Central Alabama Community College, and the
Alabama Nature Center.
Prattville is also home to Capitol Hill, part of the popular Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. “The Judge” at Capitol Hill is
consistently ranked as one of America’s top courses. “Golf Magazine” named “The Judge” as one of 10 public courses in
America worthy of hosting the U.S. Open. Prattville is also home to the Marriott Capitol Hill Hotel and Conference
Center, one of 17 hotels in the City of Prattville.
Four impressive projects currently on the table in Downtown Prattville include a new multi-million dollar museum and
education center focused on the impact of Daniel Pratt, a new outdoor entertainment venue, major enhancements to
Spillway Park, and an upscale restaurant in the historic Picker House located on Autauga Creek. The property for all four
projects has been allocated, and the City of Prattville has budgeted $4 million to construct the new outdoor entertainment
venue. These projects are part of a very successful ongoing effort designed to create a Downtown District to promote
local tourism and improve the quality of life for area residents.
In 2023, “The Mill at Prattville,” a $37 million investment in historic preservation and adaptive reuse, opened its doors,
offering 127 loft-style luxury apartments on Autauga Creek. The original mill building, constructed circa 1848, is within
easy walking distance of Downtown shops and restaurants. Regarding Downtown redevelopment, the City of Prattville
has consistently been ahead of the curve since beginning its first Downtown revitalization project more than 22 years ago.
Prattville has a long-standing tradition of supporting the arts. In 1845, Prattville’s founder, Daniel Pratt, an avid patron of
Southern art, added an art gallery to his Prattville home to showcase the work of his friend George Cooke, one of the
South’s best-known painters. Born in 1793 in Maryland, Cooke went West, later returning to Washington D.C., where he
studied painting with Charles Bird King. With the backing of Daniel Pratt, Cooke opened the National Gallery of Painting
in New Orleans. George Cooke died in 1849 and was laid to rest along with Daniel Pratt in Prattville’s Pratt Family Cemetery.
