Welcome to FOOTHILLS  History Page

How it all started...

(click on painting)

Flight by Jon Chodat

Tree by Pamela May

Still Life by Ann Ray

Flanagan Hotel by Ruth Jones Ryan

Foothills Art Society Continues To Sponsor Art Exhibits,
 Cultural Events, and Entertainment for the North Country

by Carol Thompson

August 2007

 Since its beginning seven years ago, the Foothills Art Society has provided a wide variety of art exhibits, music, theater, and cultural programs for residents of Malone, as well as the broader North Country area.

In the summer of 2000, a group of community friends and philanthropists dedicated to the preservation and development of the arts and culture in Northern New York founded the Foothills Art Society. The first board included Lisa Whitmer Carter, president; Nancy Child, vice president; David Haggard, financial officer; Arthur Norton, public relations officer, Beverly Quenville, secretary; Gail Bessette, Pamela May, and John Murphy. One of their first actions was to establish the society’s mission statement: “To preserve, restore, and develop culture in the arts for the continued education, creativity, and fulfillment of our lives in Northern New York.”

In January 2001, Foothills published a special calendar created by community artists and featuring 12 local histories sites and listing art and cultural events for each month. The group then launched an ambitious schedule of events and programs, including an eclectic variety of music, theater, art exhibits, entertainment, and cultural events, many in collaboration with North Country Community College and forARTSake.

Whimsical Women

Foothills Art Society’s signature annual event is Whimsical Women—an invitational that recognizes the artistic talents of women in the North Country. It provides an opportunity for these artists to spend a day at a secluded woodland and water site, sharing inspiration and creative impressions and impulses. The various works inspired by this day of creation are then collected and put on exhibit for the public.

The first Whimsical Women event was in 2002, at Tulamore, in Mountain View. The 2003 event was at Between the Brambles, in Chateaugay. In 2004, the Whimsical Women gathered at Willow View, in St. Anicet, Quebec; and in 2005, they were at Roaring Brook Farm, in Malone. In 2006 Whimsical Women participants met at Whispering Willows, in North Bangor for their day of creation.

On August 4, 2007, ?? women assembled at Pine Crest Farm in Malone for the sixth annual Whimsical Women event. The art created by these women will be on exhibit at forARTSake from November 16 through December 29. Gallery reception will be Friday, November 16 from 6 until 8 p.m.

Art Exhibits

The annual Robideau/Lamite-King juried art exhibit is designed to inspire young artists from middle and high schools, as well as home education students in northern Franklin County to create exceptional pieces in a variety of media. These works are reviewed by their art teachers, then submitted to the exhibit. This annual show was developed in honor of photographer Norbert Robideau, whose studio made a major impact on Malone history; and Karen Lamitie-King, local artist and retired art teacher, in recognition of her exceptional contributions to art education in the community. Robideau’s studio is the present location of forARTSake.

In 2003, Foothills Art Society joined North Country Community College and the Akwesasne Museum in presenting “Traditions of the Iroquois” an historic collection of pictographic images by Ray Fadden and three generations of the Fadden family.

Music

Foothills has sponsored music in all genres. One of its first presentations was a program of symphonic dance music for winds and percussion by the Northern Symphonic Winds. Other classical concerts have featured pianists Christopher Dellen and Sarah LaFleur.

Music programs presented in cooperation with North Country Community College have included the Celtic group Castlebay; African musician Samite, plus a collection of African art; celebrated blues musician K.J. James; the unique sound of Piquant; and popular North Country folk musician Eddy Lawrence.

Theater

Foothills Art Society has also brought Shakespeare to the North Country. In 2003 Foothills sponsored the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express performance of “Taming of the Shrew.” This performance was cosponsored by North Country Community College, Alice Hyde Medical Imaging, Fischer, Bessette & Muldowney, Cantwell & Cantwell, Lashomb Agency, International Border Company, Tim McCarthy, Architect, King Clark Insurance Co., Crossroads Inn, Malone Federation of Teachers, Copy Center, and Sisters of Perpetual “I”.

In 2005 Foothills sponsored Knighthorse Theatre Company’s Such Things as Dreams Are Made On, a unique two-person adaptation of Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest.”

Culture & Community Involvement

Foothills Art Society joined with North Country Community College in sponsoring Calvin Luther Martin’s fascinating presentation of “Where the Wild Things Are: The Message of Pleistocene Art”.

To celebrate the 300^th anniversary of Franklin’s birth in 2006, Foothills sponsored Benjamin Franklin, Printer, Etc, an original solo show written and performed by North Country artist Burdette Parks. In this entertaining and informative show, Parks treated the audience to a visit with Ben Franklin in his most comfortable environment—his print shop.

In 2004 the society presented a Foothills Cultural Summerfest in Malone, spotlighting local art and history and featuring music by local groups.

For the last two summers, Foothills Art Society has sponsored a popular boat building event at the RiverFest celebration in Malone. Children—and adults as well—gather at the Foothills booth throughout the day to construct boats using natural materials such as bark, twigs, hollow stems, leaves, flowers, seedheads, milkweed pods, pine cones, etc. Small candles are added to the boats, and at the RiverFest closing ceremony, the candles are lit and the boats are launches into the river.

Future Plans

In order to be more accessible to the public, Foothills has now moved its offices to a space at forARTSake at 393 West Main Street in Malone.

Hilary Oak, executive director of the St. Lawrence County Arts Council, has worked with the Foothills Art Society to help develop a strategic plan for the group. Drawing on the experience of rebuilding the SLC Arts Council over the last five years, Ms. Oak will assist Foothills with its efforts to strengthen the organization, clarify the responsibilities of the board, and establish an annual planning retreat. The SLC Arts Council will also be sharing a variety of information resources and support services as part of their ongoing efforts to help the arts grow and thrive in Northern New York. On June 2 and 3, 2007, Foothills Art Society held a weekend retreat with current and former board members, and other interested stakeholders, to analyze the organization's current strengths and weaknesses, and to develop an outline of plans for the years to come. This retreat enabled Foothills to focus its efforts to better serve its mission of enhancing the arts in Franklin County. In the process, the group learned more about the methods that the SLC Arts Council used to revitalize their organization.

Foothills Art Society will continue its established annual programs, and will also continue to cooperate with North Country Community College in presenting music, theater, and other cultural programs. In addition, the group plans to present more programs involving young people in the community and to expand the scope of its presentations to include literature, as well as more nontraditional arts and crafts. In this manner, Foothills Art Society aspires to increase and broaden its membership by appealing to people from various walks of life and with different life experiences and perspectives.