Loehr’s permanence follows her role since February as interim director of the organization that serves numerous arts groups throughout the Albany area.
“The Albany Area Arts Council is well positioned to serve Albany/Dougherty County and its member organizations. With a 30-year history of success, current leadership is committed to sustaining and growing the arts in our community,” said Loehr, who is in her mid 50s. “I am privileged to be a part of such a fine organization. Now is the ideal time to be involved in the local arts scene.”
Loehr moved to Albany from Newport, R.I., about 18 months ago with husband, Scott, who serves as executive director of Albany’s Flint RiverQuarium. Prior to Rhode Island the couple lived for eight years in Augusta.
“It amazes me that there is such an active art community in Albany and all the wonderful organizations we have here,” she said. “In a day when so many organizations are suffering, Albany still holds on to its symphony. A lot of communities have had to let go of theirs. You can feel the strong arts support here.”
Loehr has a number of plans in the works for future programming under the Albany Arts Area Council, including a partnership with the City of Albany to host Tuesday Music Live starting in the fall, a program she’s coordinating with Downtown Manager Don Buie. The idea is for folks to gather downtown at lunch on Tuesdays and eat outside while enjoying a live performance.
She’s already begun having regular art exhibits in the Carnegie Library on Jackson Street, where the Albany Area Arts Council is housed and wants to make the facility an inviting stop for visitors and residents alike. And Loehr has a goal to rent out the building more frequently for small receptions, private parties and other events.
“We are in a stage of reorganizing and redefining,” she said, noting that there will soon be changes to the council’s board of directors. “We’re looking at making some changes and I look forward to it with excitement. We’re going to shake it up a bit and get it done.”
Loehr arrived at the Albany Area Arts Council with high praise when she was named interim director in February after the unexpected resignation of longtime Executive Director Eddie McCarty.
“She came highly recommended from several people in Albany,” said Albany AreaArts Council President Rachelle Bitterman of Loehr to a Herald reporter at the time of the announcement.
Much of Loehr’s knowledge of the arts was gained through her previous role with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which is headquartered in New York. Duke, referred to as the “richest little girl in the world,” inherited millions at age 12 and now donates millions each year to charities. Duke collects fine European art and furniture, much of which she displays in her mansion, one of five homes she owned when Loehr worked for her.
“I had the great fortune of studying under her curator and I had to learn about her collections, including European art, Tiffany, Ming and others,” she said.
Her appreciation for the arts was sparked in her early 20s when she spent the summer with a family in Berlin. Through their eyes and the stories shared in broken English, Loehr saw the void left by Hitler’s regime storming through their city and country, stripping the museums, churches, public buildings and private homes of paintings, furniture, fine porcelain, silver and jewelry.
“At one point, the Nazis removed all the swans from local lakes and parks because of their grace and purity,” said Loehr, noting that she tried at that time to envision the Berlin she saw without its strong architecture, lush parks, museums, churches and world renowned performing arts center.
“How lucky we all are to live in a time that we have the privilege of freedom to express ourselves through art and to support the organizations and cultural agencies of our liking,” she said. “We are privileged to be living in an area that is as diverse in its arts is it is with its people.”
Loehr’s initial association with arts councils began more than 20 years ago when she served on the board of the Goldsboro (North Carolina) Arts Council. That involvement convinced her of the value of arts councils to serve both member organizations and the community at-large, she said.
“My own involvement in the arts dates back more years than I care to reveal,” she said. “For decades, I participated in the performing arts and directed many productions.”
In fact, Loehr left Albany for five months last year to assist with the Wilmington, N.C., production of “Bolden,” an $82 million independent film depicting the life of Buddy Bolden, one of the original jazz musicians.
Among Loehr’s first order of business in her new position is preparation for the Albany Area Arts Council’s 9th annual Southwest Georgia Regional Art Show and Sale, which begins Thursday and runs through June 21. The mixed-media show is expected to have more than 150 pieces of art on exhibit and for sale by artists throughout Georgia and out of state and is the council’s largest event of the year.
“I’m really excited about the caliber of the artists,” she said of the more than 60 artists who submitted work to the show and sale.
Formed in 1976, the Albany Area Arts Council has played a vital role in fostering an environment in which cultural agencies have grown and thrived. Today, the council’s member organizations include the Albany Chorale, the Albany Civil Rights Institute, the Albany Concert Association, the Albany Museum of Art, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Theatre Albany and Thronateeska Heritage Center. Collectively, these organizations deliver cultural programs and services to tens of thousands of Albany residents annually.
The show will be held at the Flint RiverQuarium, 101 Pine Ave. in Albany. While admission to the art exhibit is free, regular fees will apply for those who also wish to visit the RiverQuarium. Hours for the exhibit are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
An art reception and awards presentation is scheduled for 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday.
For more information on the Southwest Georgia Regional Art Show and Sale, visit the Albany Area Arts Council’s Web site at www.albanyartscouncil.org or call (229) 439-2787.
K.K. Snyder is a freelance writer who resides in metro Albany.
CHECK IT OUT
• WHAT: 9th annual Southwest Georgia Regional Art Show and Sale opening reception
• WHEN: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday
• WHERE: Flint RiverQuarium, 101 Pine Ave., Albany
• INFO: Call, (229) 439-2787