Mission Statement:
The mission of the South Side Arts Complex is to nurture, provide cultural exposure train aspiring career artists, offer performance venues and opportunities and increase economic and financial gain for the diverse communities of Tallahassee by connecting children, young adults and adults to personal and professional experiences in the arts.
GOALS:
1) To harness the wealth of cultural collective talent that exists in our community,
2) To provide an incubator for seasoned and budding artists to collaborate through teaching/learning, performance/exhibition,
3) To spur economic development and support small, disadvantaged businesses by providing a venue which allows local artists to earn revenue by showcasing their creative enterprises,
4)To improve the quality of life for youth and other residents of Tallahassee’s Southside, Tallahassee/Leon County and beyond through cultural enrichment opportunities that promote positive and creative dialogue through words, music and art.
HISTORY:
The Southside Arts Complex started out as the Vocal Arts Network, Inc 501(c)3 organization in March of 2011, with the initial mission of promoting vocal artist in the community, founded by Marcus J. Rhodes. After some months of deliberation and an assessment of goals and the immediate community need, Rhodes changed the name to the Southside Arts Complex in order to broaden the scope of impact in the community.
In April of 2012 the organization acquired 25,000 square feet of leased space in the Towne South Shopping Center located at 2525 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Operations included after school programming in music, theater, visual arts, and dance, venue space for various community and private events, and studio and media services including photography videography and recording studios, and the black box theater.
Other organizations housed at, the, then new, Tallahassee Arts Hub on the south end of town, included the Boys Choir of Tallahassee, the Mahogany Dance Theatre and Strikers Dance Troup as well as other community and religious organizations. Many local music artists have been featured at the SAC through the Music Performance and Concert Series. Local play writers such as Patricia “Ms. Pat” Edwards (formerly of the Norman Lear Production Company), and James Webb (founder of Spiderwebb Productions) premiered original plays in the SAC black box theater.
Several visual arts exhibits were presented under the leadership of Kabuya Pamela Bowens-Saffo (formerly artist in residence – Florida A&M University) that featured local artist legends such as ceramic artist great Yvonne Tucker, the distinguished painter Eluster Richardson, and premier engraver Leon Hicks. In the fall of 2014 the SAC moved to 1533 South Monroe Street into a 15,000 square foot suite in the Omnimax Plaza, just a few blocks south of Cascade Park, to continue its community programming; cultivating the community and the city by providing a forum for and resources for artistic and professional development to include health, economics and education.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SERVING 2023 – 2025
EXECUTIVE STAFF
