Filling A Need Story By JD McCarthy Photos Contributed By Sarah West
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rowing up in Smiths Station, there was no place for Sarah West to go and learn about the art that had captivated her attention. Fast forward to 2021 and she is now the proud owner of The Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art: A Center for Cultural Arts, which has been educating the local community about art, sustainability and cultural appreciation since opening in 2008. “It was recognizing a need in this community and recognizing that sometimes it’s up to the pioneers to bring that to fruition,” West said. “In that way I feel like we are cultural pioneers here. We are filling a need because people
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are looking for this corner of the world that is missing from their lives.” West, who is an American narrative painter, believes that while they have a formal art gallery that exhibits her work, the gallery’s primary mission is to foster a cultural appreciation of the arts and to help artists of all ages and abilities grow. “Our primary function is, as a cultural arts center, to facilitate that need and help people thrive,” she said. “That has been the greatest reward in what we do, that’s the prize in our process.” To help foster this education, West created the Sarah West
Downtown
