Thomasville Center for the Arts Arts and Culture, Venue, Things to Do

Thomasville Center for the Arts invites you to experience art! The Center’s historic building hosts a rotating exhibitions program featuring the works of seasoned and emerging contemporary artists, alongside educational traveling exhibits, and our notable collection of sporting and wildlife art, as well as an interactive youth studio on our ground floor.

Our four galleries are open to the public during operating hours. Our building hosts performances in a newly renovated 480 seat theatre, as well as art classes for adults and youth alike.

For those looking to deepen their experience of art, view our programming and register for classes online at thomasvillearts.org.

Hours:
Public: Tuesdays-Fridays, 10 am to 5 pm and 2^nd Saturdays (subject to change around events)
Closed to the Public on Mondays

For more information, call us at (229) 226-0588 or email us at receptionist@thomasvillearts.org

Current exhibits:

Youth Arts Month (YAM): Currently through March 31, 2025

Youth Arts Month (YAM) is an annual observance each March to emphasize the value of art education for all children and to encourage support for quality school art programs. The YAM EXHIBITION highlights student work at Thomasville Center for the Arts. This exhibition hightlights students from pre-kindergarten through 12^th grade from across Thomas County. This platform not only honors the creativity of our students, but also recognizes the teachers who guide their artistic endeavors with awards that fuel their passion for art. On view at: Thomasville Center fo the Arts, 600 East Washington St.

Stop and Smell the Roses: April 3 – May 1, 2025

Stop & Smell the Roses! Is a public art exhibition + competition in the Creative District designed to complement the Center’s Due South 2025 Music, Food, & Art Festival, set to take place on April 5, 2025. The exhibition will be on display during the 104th Rose Show Festival and will focus on the sights and sounds of Thomasville as we celebrate roses, the symbol of our city. 16 teams of fiber artists (1-2/team) will compete to yarn bomb 16 lampposts along the West Jackson Street corridor in Downtown Thomasville by staging a rose-inspired yarn bomb. Each team will create a fiber art sleeve for the lamppost with an embellishment of a fiber art bouquet of roses along with other local flowers - crocheted, knitted, felted, or created with any fiber art medium. On view at: Downtown Thomasville, 217 West Jackson St.

Surface Tension: April 4 – June 6, 2025

Surface Tension brings together mixed media installations by Linda Hall and photography by Becki Rutta, both Tallahassee-based artists. Rebirth and death happen simultaneously; this duality of love and loss, attachment and release, is seen in Hall’s handmade works crafted from repurposed materials inspired by her home in Florida’s Big Bend region. Rutta's Anxiety Masks series, showcased alongside Hall’s installations, explores themes of alienation while also trying to connect on a very human level. Through Rutta’s photographs, the works speak to a world reshaped by pandemic-era masking. Together, they examine transformation, communication, and adaptation while celebrating a wondrous yet shifting world. On view at: Thomasville Center fo the Arts, 600 East Washington

14 Decades of Music in Thomasville: April 5 – December 31, 2025

14 Decades of Music in Thomasville is a historic photography exhibition in Thomasville, Georgia, exploring the evolution of music and music photography styles across decades, genres, cultures, and locations. It includes portraits, images of live performances, and behind-the-scenes moments, with clothing and architectural styles adding interest to the photos.

This collection of over 50 images honors and celebrates Thomasville’s music culture from 1890 to today. It includes icons such as Thomasville Entertainment Foundation (TEF), with its claim as one of the first and oldest concert presenter organizations in the nation; Thomasville’s Cocroft Music Company, believed to be the longest operating music store in Georgia at the time of closing (1922-2009); and Thomasville’s WPAX, which received its first broadcasting license in 1922, and was just the 3rd to do so in Georgia and the 20th in the United States.

These images tell a story that begins on the cusp of the twentieth century and travels through the World Wars, civil and economic upheaval, peace and love, ideological pendulums, technological advancement, and encroaching modernity through the present day. They exhibit periods with opera, orchestras, garage bands, and concerts – demonstrating that a strong community will continue to push forward through hardships and good times, always creating a way to include music in their daily lives. These photographs are valuable for understanding our history and providing insight into societal changes and advance-ments. They allow us to take a journey through time.

In addition to the collection of historic photographs, a new mural by Clay Byars, inspired by a historical image of “The Ritz” showcases the entertainment venue once located in The Sandy Bottom District. On view at: The Ritz Amphitheater

Bloom into Art: May 10 – June 4, 2025

The Pines & Palms Exhibition: Bloom Into Art. View and enjoy nationally awarded, renowned and budding artists, and their original works of art on exhibit and for sale. On view at: the Community Hall, Thomasville Center fo the Arts, 600 East Washington

Boats, Buoys + Bait: Through July 2025

Boats, Buoys + Bait is Valdosta painter Lanell Shen’s first solo exhibition. Exploring her fascination with reflections, Lanell creates an emotional connection through her depiction and expression of light and water.

Modern Yarn Garden: Currently through September 30, 2025

Fiber artist Luwahana Lee Martin pays homage to Piet Mondrian with her yarn creation under the oaks. Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) was a Dutch artist who became synonymous with the modern art movement in the 20th century. Best known for his paintings featuring primary colors, black and white lines, and simple rectangular shapes, Mondrian's iconic style influenced other art movements, such as Color Field Painting and Abstract Expressionism. His paintings even inspired designers, architects, and fashion designers. In this new public art installation, Mondrian's iconic style is interpreted as a Modern Yarn Garden. The hand-crafted yarn bombs and floral installation will kick off Youth Arts Month (annually in March) and remain on view through summer. This show is in collaboration with her daughter, Darlene Crosby Taylor, and the addition of flowers using a Mondrian-influenced fabric. On view at: Thomasville Center for the Arts, 600 East Washington St.