Cartersville
GA � July 2003 � Great news for Western fans and art aficionados in the
Southeast � a museum of Western Art is opening August 2003, less than an
hour north of Atlanta in Cartersville,
Georgia. And what a museum it will be. With 80,000 square feet, the Booth
Western Art Museum will host not only one of the country�s finest collections
of contemporary Western Art, but will have galleries featuring Civil War
art, western movie posters and illustrations, a Presidential Gallery and
an interactive Children�s Gallery.
With
this being the first museum of Western Art in the Southeast, many have
asked, �Why Cartersville � and where is it anyway?� The answer is simple
� the museum will be ideally located in an already interesting small town
just two miles off one of the nation�s most highly traveled highways, Interstate
75. Cartersville is rich in Civil War and Native American historic sites
and offers a surprising selection of shopping and dining choices in the
downtown district where the museum is located. The museum brings a new
Americana cultural excursion to the South�s boomtown, Atlanta, and is expected
to draw patrons from the migratory Michigan-to-Miami �Snowbird� travel
set.
Besides
the uniqueness of Western Art in Georgia, the Booth Museum gives the South
a grand introduction to the genre. The collection�s 200-plus pieces include
original works by early artists of Taos and Santa Fe, as well as contemporary
creations from the Cowboy Artists of America Award Winners Roy Anderson,
and Oreland C. Joe. Other prominent western artists include Howard Terpning,
Joe Beeler, Harry Jackson, and popular female artists Carrie Ballantyne
and Nancy Glazier.
The
Civil War Gallery boasts works from artists such as Don Troiani, Mort Künstler
and Don Stivers. Forty-five original letters and other personal communications
from all U.S. Presidents will be displayed in the Presidential Gallery.
In the Children�s Gallery, kids will have an opportunity to sit in a life-like
bouncing stagecoach, cook a pretend cowboy meal in the chuck wagon, and
learn to draw horses and buffalo in their own art studio.
Recognizing
the value the museum brings to the state�s inventory of visitor attractions,
Georgia�s Department of Tourism awarded a grant to the Cartersville-Bartow
County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) to market a travel package
centering around the Booth Museum and the Native American historic sites
in the region. Called Cowboys and Indians in Georgia, CVB Director Ellen
Archer says the Indian-themed art to be seen in the Booth Museum Collection
is a new catalyst for showcasing the little known story of the Southeastern
Indian Cultures who dwelt here.
Just
three miles from the Booth Museum is the Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic
Site, the most intact Mississippian Cultural Site in the east. Only one
of the mounds has been excavated while the remaining mounds have been preserved
just as they were nearly 1000 years ago. The Etowah Indian Mounds is one
of six Native American historic sites and museums that comprise a self-guided
tour through northwest Georgia called the Chieftain�s Trail.
About
30 miles north in Calhoun is New Echota State Historic Site, the capital
of the Cherokee Nation prior to 1838 when President Andrew Jackson executed
the forced march to Oklahoma remembered as the infamous Trail of Tears.
It is one of two Georgia sites designated as official Trail of Tears sites
by the U.S. Department of Interior. The Chieftains Museum in Rome, the
home of the Cherokee Chief who signed the treaty that led to the Trail
of Tears, is the other Georgia Trail of Tears Site. The Chieftains Museum/Major
Ridge Home is located approximately 30 miles west of Cartersville. Other
sites on the Chieftains Trail include the Chief Vann House State Historic
Site, known as the �Showcase of the Cherokee Nation,� and the Funk Heritage
Center, an interpretative museum on the campus of Reinhardt College, a
small private school 20 miles east of Cartersville. The Funk Heritage Center
displays 12,000 years of Native American history featured through artifacts,
dioramas and interactive workstations in the Hall of the Ancients. The
Rogers Gallery of Contemporary Indian Art adds to the experience.
Y�all
stop by for a western weekend in Georgia�s great northwest. Most people
equate springtime in Georgia to azaleas and the Masters Golf tournament
in Augusta. Now courtesy of the Booth Western Art Museum, it�s dogwoods
and Cowboys and Indians in Cartersville. �We truly have Cowboys and Indians
in Georgia� adds Archer, �and we�re excited to be able to spark new tourism
in Northwest Georgia by combining the opening of the Booth Western Art
Museum along with the rich Native Peoples heritage that surrounds us.�
Directions:
I-75 Exit 288, go south on GA 113 (Main Street) through four traffic lights,
cross the railroad tracks then turn right into parking area at Friendship
Plaza. Be sure to stop in at the Visitor Information Center located in
the restored railroad Depot. The Booth Western Art Museum is located one
block away behind the Church Street Bridge in the downtown historic district.
Numerous shops and restaurants are located within easy walking distance
of the Museum.
Related
Web Sites
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Contact:
Cartersville-Bartow
County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Regina
Wheeler, TMP
Media
Relations
Cowboys
& Indians in Georgia � Cartersville that is
800-733-2280
or
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Ellen
Archer
Executive
Director
800-733-2280
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Note:
For reproducible images of the Booth Western Art Museum collection contact
Cheryl Kennedy- Membership and Marketing Director, Booth Western Art Museum
770-607-6361 cherylk@boothmuseum.org.
Member
Southeast
Tourism Society
www.southeasttourism.org
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�Visit the Southeast�
www.escapetothesoutheast.com
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Placement Dates: 07/10/03
� 9/10/03
�Service of Hospitality
1ST and Subscribing Members�
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