About Us
75 Years in the Community
MISSION:
The Eastern Shore Art Center connects people of all ages and abilities with the arts through education, exhibitions and outreach activities.
The Eastern Shore Art Association, dba the Eastern Shore Art Center, is funded solely through private memberships, donations and grants. The Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and relies on the goodwill of the community for its continuation. All memberships and contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
Located in Fairhope, Alabama, the Eastern Shore Art Center (ESAC) has been the keystone arts and cultural center for several communities on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. Since its founding in 1952, ESAC’s mission has been to connect people of all ages and abilities with art through education, exhibitions and outreach activities.
ESAC has grown since its inception to include five galleries and four arts instruction studios with the goal to offer education and advancement opportunities for artists, while providing a hub for community artistic engagement.
Hundreds of classes are offered in all artistic visual arts genres for beginning to advance students. Each of the five galleries features multiple exhibits each year featuring local, regional and national artists and group showings. Our annual Outdoor Art Show, held for three days annually in March, will celebrate its 54th year in 2026, featuring 100 artists from around the country. We also host a children’s art camp each year in the summer, and our Outreach Program brings the healing power of art to thousands of children and adults each year who are differently abled.
Meet The ESAC Staff
Pelham Pearce
Executive Director
Adrienne Clow
Marketing & Exhibits Director
Reanna Watson
Academy Director
Kayla Dean
Admin Specialist
Lindsey Lawrence
Community Outreach
Meet The ESAC Board
Board President
Natalie Jones
Board Vice President
Beth Thomas
Board Secretary
Gin Duncan
Board Treasurer
Buddy Russell
Board of Directors:
Lenise Ligon
Terry Barkin
Chesley Allegri
Sharon Dearing
Katie Sneed
Gia Wiggins
Joshua Rachal
Jimmy Prestwood
Patti Burrell
Jennifer Jenkins
Kim Garrett
Dr. Tom Myers
THE DREAM OF LOCAL ARTISTS
The Eastern Shore Art Association was founded in 1952 by a group of local artists and patrons who recognized the importance of art to a meaningful and full community life. Construction on a one room gallery began that same year on the site of former Pinewood Pottery Studio that had operated in Fairhope for over twenty years making functional ceramics from local clay.
DECADES IN THE MAKING
The Art Center (first dedicated in 1965) has continued to grow in that same location over the past decades to a facility that houses five exhibit galleries and four teaching studios. ESAC now includes among its activities monthly exhibits; quarterly classes for adults and children; an annual outdoor show; monthly Art Walks; outreach programs for assisted living residents and children and adults with disabilities and chronic illnesses; and extensive programs for both public art and arts education in local schools.
COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ART
The Committee on Public Art, COPA, is a committee of the Eastern Shore Art Association established in 2001 for the purpose of placing the highest quality works of art throughout Fairhope; developing a Sculpture Trail. The presence of art in public places makes a strong statement to residents and visitors by providing open access to unique works of art.
Fairhope’s First Pottery Power Couple
The story behind the founders of Fairhope’s Pinewood Pottery.
Full Article: https://mobilebaymag.com/fairhopes-first-pottery-power-couple/