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15Hope Mills Creative Arts CouncilFor the last five years, Elizabeth Blevins has been exploring ways to bring art to the town of Hope Mills. After finding out she wasn’t alone in her quest, Blevins put together a committee that is going to try to make this dream happen. The newly created Hope Mills Creative Arts Council held its first official meetings last month and has as its ultimate goal bringing public displays of art to the community.

During her search for ways to bring art to the town, Blevins learned about the nearby town of Cameron in Moore County. Some years ago, a Cameron native moved to New York and became a prominent artist. He then returned to his hometown with some artist friends and painted numerous murals on various local buildings. The murals drew many visitors to the town, and Blevins would like to see Hope Mills try something similar.

“We love art, but art with a purpose,’’ Blevins said. One of the biggest reasons to bring art to a town like Hope Mills, she said, is research shows it can increase both commercial and private property values.

In addition to increasing property values, art has an effect on citizens. “It makes them proud of their community to know we have this,’’ she said. “When they are proud, they act a little better. They invest emotionally and then financially in their own community.’’

A spinoff of the art group would also be to promote a garden club and an appearance club that would work one-on-one with property owners to help them beautify their homes and businesses.

“We want to move forward with that to create an artist’s cooperative where we pair artists with local businesses,’’ Blevins said. “We already have space available and can turn businesses in our community into micro-art galleries.’’

Blevins said this could also lead to local performances with musicians, comedians, dancers and all manner of entertainment.

“We want art to be an integral part of daily life in Hope Mills,’’ she said. “We want Hope Mills to be the kind of destination people are willing to drive three hours to visit because of the art.’’

Karoll McDonald, who runs her own creative marketing agency, reached out to work with Blevins when she first heard about Blevins' idea to bring public art to Hope Mills.

“Whenever you do things that promote art, it creates a connection with the community,’’ McDonald said. “Whenever people see colors, see art, it gives them a sense of belonging, that they are part of something.’’ 

McDonald said the committee has already gotten positive response from a number of businesses. “There are a couple of exciting things coming up this year for the people in Hope Mills,’’ she said.

Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner has attended meetings of the committee and is excited citizens of the town are involved in this project. “They’re so interested and have so many creative ideas,’’ she said of the group. Warner said she has displayed local art in her private business and has sold some pieces created by local artists.

“We can tap that talent to start with,’’ she said. “The cultural side has not been developed like it should be. I think we need to start promoting (the fact) that we do have some talent here and some creative people here.’’

Photo:  Some founding members of the Hope Mills Creative Arts Council, left to right: Kenjuana McCray, Beth Cooper, Dennis Brechner, Pat Edwards, Sue Moody, Elizabeth Blevins, Adam Walls, Jim Blevins, Karoll McDonald

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