Clinton4224

Thacker Mountain Radio goes on the road
5-6 times a year, and one of the road trips is
Clinton–for a show produced by the Arts
Council. TMR in Clinton this year is June 18
(Father’s Day Weekend) and the Council
expects a sellout crowd.
There is still more to the Arts Council of
Clinton. For Bob Blanton, current president of
the board, ACC is all about building community.
It sounds a little shop-worn these days, but
“community” is the vision that first brought
him into ACC and now inspires his leadership.
A native of East Tennessee, with an
amazingly varied background, Bob and his wife,
Dr. Joan Blanton (an adjunct professor at both
Mississippi State and JSU) made a conscious
decision to put down roots in Clinton. As he
puts it, we “decided to make Clinton our home”
and we “have chosen to give our time and talent
to supporting and sustaining the arts in our
chosen community.” For Bob that means doing
all the things an arts council should do, but it
also means building community by working
together with other arts-related efforts, such as
Main Street Clinton and the Clinton Brick
Street Players.
Bob Blanton, president, and Ricky Nations,
immediate past-president of the council, have
great hopes for the future. They want to expand
scholarship opportunities and increase exposure
of young artists. They envision training on the
business side of art and the use of art in therapy.
They are committed to an annual film festival
and live theater in Clinton. But above all, they
want to increase support for the arts in Clinton.
For some people, the word “arts” conjures
up images of a wild-eyed Salvador Dali or
postmodern architecture with staircases that
go nowhere. Members of the Arts Council
of Clinton are none of the above. Bob Blanton
is priest-in-charge of the Episcopal Church of
the Creator, and not really an artist at all. Ricky
Nations owns Shelter Insurance—and “I write
some,” he says. Most members of the council
are “avocational” artists, Bob points out, not
full-time or professional. They sing, play, write,
act, sculpt, paint, design, and care about the
arts because they want to bring beauty into
Clinton, Mississippi.
The Arts Council of Clinton welcomes you
to join in, artist or not. The Council meets the
first Thursday of every month (6:30 pm) at
Northside Baptist Church (1475 E. Northside
Drive). You are warmly invited to come. And
bring your ideas! Or bring them online:
artscouncilofclinton.org.
16 • MAY 2022