Mission:
Rockport Center for the Arts mission is to contribute to the art education and cultural enrichment of the community. The Art Center exhibits works of art, and fosters the performing and literary arts. To encourage people's interest in art and develop their appreciation of art, workshop experiences for children and adults are offered.
About the Center
Rockport Center for the Arts boasts a state-of-the-art main gallery as the result of building renovations and expansions in 1998 and 2000. The two parlor galleries are now dedicated entirely to the works of its member artists, while the main gallery allows the Center to broaden its horizons. The invited and curated exhibitions in this gallery include the works of regional, national, and internationally acclaimed artists (which does not exclude some of Rockport's own outstanding artists). In 2000 the Garden Gallery was added, allowing the Center for the first time to simultaneously feature three distinct exhibitions, at times displaying over 100 original works of art.
Today the building also houses two visual arts classrooms which are home to numerous workshops, classes, paint-ins and open studio sessions. A well-furnished pottery studio is always active, and includes a kiln room which hosts daily firings. Visitors enjoy the art center gift shop where member artists display a wide range of art and craft.
Our "backyard," a 10,000 square foot Sculpture Garden, is home to works by internationally acclaimed granite sculptor and Rockport resident Jesus Moroles, as well as Kent Ullberg, today's foremost wildlife sculptor, and Leo Osborne, a silver medal recipient from the National Sculptor's Guild.
Contemporary local artists like Herb Booth, Al Barnes and Kay Barnebey continue to stay active, gathering inspiration from our Coastal Bend environment.
The Art Center continues to host community-driven events around the arts. Events such as Art Educator Days, ArtLink for Kids, the Rockport Film Festival, a Music Performance Series, and the Rockport Clay Expo are just a few examples. Rockport itself has over 200 working artists, over a dozen downtown art galleries, and was recently named a "Top 10 Coastal Art Colony" by Coastal Living Magazine.
