Southport, Open Your Doors!
19 Historic Doors. 14 Local Artists. Two Great Causes. One Inspiration.
"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with
some passion, some compassion, some humour and some style."
- Maya Angelou
An Art and History Community Project
Upon receiving a donation of 19 historic doors from Ginger Harper, the owner of the historic Harper House on Bay Street, the Southport Historic Society looked to find ways to honor the doors' history while also celebrating the community's recovery following the pandemic.
In partnership with the Historical society, Up Your Arts created an artistic extravaganza to repurpose these pieces of history into works of art. Artists were selected through a blind jury process that ended June 14.
We chose a quote from Maya Angelou, that we felt represented the vision of opening a door between the past and the present: "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour and some style."
The Artists and The Process
Fourteen artists were chosen, including solo and team artists: Kianna Bearden, Alora Boerner, Harry Burrell, Lori Guidi, Ginger Hedblom, Mary Beth Livers, Donna Parisi, Austin Sapp, Rosemary Wagner, and Chris Wallace. The two teams include a duo, Nancy Cray and Lynn Gillis; and a trio, Dan DeGroat, Gia Holmes, and Colleen Phillips.
Over the summer, a variety of mediums were employed by the artists to transform the doors into works of art.
Viewing the Doors
An artist reception was held in the fall to reveal the doors to the public, after which, the individual doors were distributed throughout Southport in local retail establishments.
The "Doors on Tour" continued through the end of they year in the retail locations, and then moved on to various nonprofit locations throughout the Southport region in January and February.
Finally, a gala event was held to reunite the doors, celebrate their collective message, and auction them to private donors. Proceeds benefit the stewardship of the Old Brunswick County Jail by the Southport Historical Society and Up Your Arts' efforts to turn the Old Brunswick County Courthouse into a community-based center for creative and performing arts.
