Ric Geyer ’73 Opens New Arts Center in Macon, Georgia

•ALUMNI PROFILE•

Ric Geyer ’73 opens new arts center in Macon, Georgia

For longtime readers of WRA Magazine, this story might sound a little familiar. In the Fall 2004 issue, we published an article about Ric Geyer ’73 and his winning the Waring Prize. Prize recipients are honored for their great work and service to their community, and at the time of the publication, Geyer was making a tremendous impact on the city of Detroit. The article details a short list of his many contributions (e.g., volunteering to be CFO for the 2006 Super Bowl Host Committee, serving on the transition team for two city mayors, working with former Governor Jennifer Granholm on building a bridge between the arts and economic development). The list ends with a brief mention of an arts center that Geyer opened after purchasing a derelict warehouse and converting it into an “artist incubator” and cultural centerpiece for the city. It’s almost mentioned offhandedly (though with clear admiration), but looking back it foreshadows a legacy that Geyer is still building. This year, Geyer is opening his fourth arts center, this one in Macon, Georgia. Triangle Arts Macon sits in downtown Macon’s Industrial District, and the buildings on this lot, once on the demo list, are now revitalized spaces, splashed with vibrant colors and repurposed as individual artist studios.

A quick trip to the website tells you more. Their mission, in their words, is to “help folks move forward — with their ideas, with their art and with their lives.” Artists are invited to add to ongoing street murals, rent studio space, contribute to Macon’s rich history of innovation in music and the arts, and come to a place where it is safe and encouraged to be creative and bold.

There is more to read in Geyer’s Class Note, where, in his message to his classmates, he acknowledges how winning the Waring Prize has acted, in a way, as an accelerant: “Winning [the prize] back in the day has probably done more for my stamina and perseverance than anything. I truly believe Reserve is an outstanding institution, and I feel like I am trying to uphold the legacy of the award and the institution every day.” And upholding it he is. What an important and admirable calling it is to create a place designed to bring more beauty into a community, and into the world. There’s no denying the importance of art. To borrow from Henry James, “It is art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance.” Geyer’s latest undertaking is another gift to another community, one we are proud to applaud.

“I truly believe Reserve is an outstanding institution, and I feel like I am trying to uphold the legacy of the award and the institution every day.”