The Flora Cameron Gallery at ArtCenter Waco has been years in the making. Board member Risher Smith Gilbert was influential in helping with the acquisition of the collection for ArtCenter Waco. For her its opening is about more than art.
“It represents the bringing to fruition, the countless volunteer hours over decades of Wacoans who are committed to having an art center in Waco," Smith Gilbert said.
The 82-piece collection was donated by the Flora Cameron Foundation after her death. But Smith Gilbert said Waco was always Flora Cameron's first choice, largely because of her family’s ties to the city.
Flora Cameron’s father, William Cameron, donated the land for Cameron Park over 100 years ago.
“Her family really understood giving back to a community," Smith Gilbert said. "That is her Waco heritage.”
The collection contains works from 48 artists, some world renowned. She said that’s part of what makes having the collection in Waco so special.
“[The paintings] are of a quality that there’s no other gallery or place that Waco and the surrounding communities can see that art, unless they drive to Austin or Dallas or San Antonio,” Smith Gilbert said.
She said most of the artworks share a similar theme of landscapes. That helped staff choose the exhibit name “Sense of Place”
Portions of the collection will remain on permanent display at the ArtCenter, rotating through the Cameron Gallery space every few months. That leaves the main space available for rotating exhibits.
“We didn’t want it to interfere with our mission of also allowing young and upcoming artists to showcase their work to the public," Smith Gilbert said.
Starting September 25 and running through October 31, the main space will exhibit “In Her Element.”
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