World renowned sculptor and Texas Medal of Arts honoree James Surls told County Line a few years ago that growing up among the forests of East Texas near Malakoff was where he learned to spend his time “making things.”
“I didn’t call it art when I was a kid. I just loved to make little carts, wagons, tree houses, and other things. My dad was a builder. My older brother could build things that worked. He could take automobiles and watches apart and put them together and they worked. He built things that had a working reality. The things I built never did, but people always loved what I did, so I gravitated toward art. Over a period of my early 20s, I just kinda became more and more focused and it was apparent that there was a name for what I did, and it was called art. I would say I got into it by osmosis.”
Many artists find inspiration among the natural beauty of the Upper East Side of Texas and numerous galleries in the region feature their works on a regular basis. Others also bring in collections from around the world, all providing great resources for art lovers who live and visit the region.
Besides visual arts, the region is home for many performing arts stages hosting theatre, dance, live music, and various forms of entertainment.
Below are lists of notable galleries who feature art exhibitions and/or art for sale, including local artists’ online stores, and outdoor “galleries.” Also included are arts organizations that hold shows, classes, and other arts-related events on a regular basis throughout the year, as well as performance centers. Many talented artists and organizers keep the Upper East Side of Texas flowing with creativity.
VISUAL ARTS GALLERIES & MUSEUMS PERFORMING ARTS LIVE MUSIC VENUES LITERARY ARTS ORGANIZATIONS ARTS FOCUSED EVENTS ANNUAL CULTURAL AND OTHER EVENTS
VISUAL ARTS GALLERIES & MUSEUMS
211 Gallery, Athens Angelina Arts Alliance, Lufkin Anthony Bruce Art Ava Arnold Art Bart Soutendijk Welded Wire Wall Art, Mineola Becker Art Studios, Lufkin Caddo Mounds State Historic Site, Alto Charlie Bullock Art Studio and School, Athens Cindy the Potter, Alba. ( Horsefeathers, Mineola; WCA Gift Shop, Winnsboro) Cole Art Center, The Old Opera House, Nacogdoches Creative Arts Center, Bonham East Texas Regional Arts Center, Jasper Edom Art House Fidone Fine Art Gallery, Lufkin Gallery Main Street, Tyler Gallery at the Redlands, Redlands Hotel, Palestine Greenville Art Walk Griffith Gallery, Griffith Fine Arts building, SFA, Nacogdoches Horsefeathers, Mineola JD Cole Art, Nacogdoches Jeffie Brewer, Nacogdoches Joseph Raymond Fine Art Gallery, Texarkana Linda Lucas Hardy Longview Museum of Fine Arts Mary Karam Gallery, Denison Maureen Killaby , Lindale McKinney Art Gallery Michelson Museum of Art, Marshall Modern Country Living, Winnsboro Museum of East Texas, Lufkin Nancy Beauchamp Northeast Texas Children’s Museum, Commerce O3 Collective, Edom Plaza Art Gallery, Paris Pearce Museum, Navarro College, Corsicana Pine Mills Pottery, Mineola Potters Brown Collective, Edom Sparrows Gallery, Denison Terry Crum Studio The Blade Bar, Edom The Creative Spot Gallery & Gifts, Uptown Forum, Greenville The Gallery at 1894, Texarkana The Old Firehouse, Edom Tyler Fine Art Gallery Tyler Museum of Art Northeast Texas Community College Galleries, Mount Pleasant Winnsboro Center for the Arts WCA Learning Center Gift Shop, Winnsboro Wood County Walls Zeke & Marty Jewelry, Edom Zig Zag Galleries, Denison
PERFORMING ARTS
ArtsView Children’s Theatre, Longview Belcher Center, Longview Caldwell Auditorium, Tyler Cherokee Civic Theatre, Rusk Cole Art Center, The Old Opera House, Nacogdoches Cowan Center, Tyler Creative Arts Center, Bonham East Texas Symphonic Band, Longview East Texas Symphony Orchestra, Tyler Greenville Municipal Auditorium Henderson County Performing Arts Center, Athens Hopkins County Civic Center, Sulphur Springs Jamie Foxx Performing Arts Center, Terrell Jean Browne Theatre, Tyler Junior College Lake Country Playhouse, Mineola Liberty Hall, Tyler Longview Ballet Theatre Longview Symphony Main Street Theatre, Sulphur Springs Marshall Regional Arts Council Maude Cobb Convention Center, Longview McKinney Performing Arts Center Memorial City Hall Performance Center, Marshall Paris Community Theatre Perot Theater, Texarkana Rogers Palmer Performing Arts Center, Tyler Junior College Texan Theater Greenville Texas Shakespeare Festival, Kilgore Theatre Longview Tyler Civic Chorale Tyler Civic Theatre Whatley Center for Performing Arts, Mount Pleasant Winnsboro Center for the Arts W.M. Turner Auditorium, Nacogdoches 
LIVE MUSIC VENUES
The Texan Theater, Athens The Forge Bar & Grill, Ben Wheeler Moore’s Store Texas, Ben Wheeler Big Sandy Music Hall, Big Sandy Esquire Theater, Carthage Camp Street Cafe, Crockett The Old Firehouse, Edom FRESH by Brookshire, Fate Red Rooster Ice House, Hawkins Auntie Skinner’s, Jefferson The Back Porch, Kilgore Brisket Love Barbecue and Icehouse, Lindale Texas Music City Grill & Smokehouse, Lindale Music City Texas Theater, Linden Leon’s Steakhouse & Saloon, Longview Lone Star Ice House, Longview The Celt Irish Pub, McKinney Mount Vernon Music, Mount Vernon Banita Creek Hall, Nacogdoches Fredonia Brewery, Nacogdoches Foster’s Place Restaurant & Pub, Pickton ETX Brewing Co., Tyler FRESH Grill & Patio, Tyler Lago del Pino, Tyler Liberty Hall, Tyler Rick’s on the Square, Tyler Stanley’s Famous Pit Barbecue, Tyler The Bowery Stage, Winnsboro Neon Moon Restaurant & Social Club, Yantis
LITERARY
East Texas Writers Association East Texas Writers Guild Longview Book Club North East Texas Writers Organization Paris Poetry Society Poets of East Texas Michael Guinn Spoken Word, Jacksonville
CULTURE VENUES
Alamo Mission Museum of Franklin County, Mount Vernon Caddo Mounds State Historic Site, Alba
ARTS ORGANIZATIONS
Angelina Arts Alliance, Lufkin ARTS QUEST, Arts Quest for the Upper East Side of Texas Art Tracks, Palestine Community Theatre of East Texas, Hughes Springs Denison Arts Council Dogwood Arts Council, Palestine East Texas Art League, Jasper Marshall Regional Arts Council Mineola League of the Arts Nacogdoches Arts Collaborative Piney Woods Fine Arts Association, Crocket Rockwall Art League Star Harbor Watercolor Society Texarkana Regional Arts & Humanities Council Tyler Arts & Culture Collective
CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS
Historic Athens, Athens
ARTS & CULTURE FOCUSED EVENTS
Rhythm in Our Blues. Greenville. February. Annual concert at Greenville Municipal Auditorium. showtimeatthegma.com Star Harbor Watercolor Society’s For the Love of Art Show. 2008. February. The lakeside community of Star Harbor is located just north of Malakoff. The free event includes delicious refreshments, an opportunity to meet the artists, and live music. Examples of the members’ artwork can be viewed at the society website www.starharborws.org. Tribute to Townes Van Zandt. Ben Wheeler. 2019. March. Features singer-songwriters performing and paying tribute to the late Townes Van Zandt, one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 20th century. The Forge Bar & Grill. theforgebenwheeler.com Dogwood Arts & Music Festival. Palestine. 2019. March. Showcases Texas artists and musicians and includes food, live street performances, and children’s activities. Downtown Palestine. visitpalestine.com LitCon. Greenville. 2019. March. Celebrate literature and pop culture including comics, manga, anime, games, and good old-fashioned books. Costumes are welcomed, but not required. litcongreenville.com Rangerette Revels. Kilgore. 1950. April. The high-kicking, world-famous Rangerettes annual spring show features a wide range of dance genres. rangerette.com Athens Old Fiddlers Contest & Reunion. 1932. April. The longest running fiddle contest in Texas features fiddlers of all ages, live music, street dances, car show, a kiddie carnival, and street food. athensfiddlers.com Arts in Bloom. McKinney. 2008. April. Featuring more than 120 juried artists and renowned Texas wineries. Downtown McKinney. mckinneytexas.org/687/Arts-in-Bloom Empty Bowls McKinney. 2011. April. Enjoy samples of gourmet soups prepared by local restaurant chefs and choose from hundreds of event bowls made by local artists. Proceeds go to local charities that provide food to those in need. McKinney Performing Arts Center. emptybowlsmckinney.com Downtown Live. Longview. 2012. April/May and Sep/Oct. Annual outdoor music series with food trucks. Heritage Plaza, Downtown Longview. visitlongviewtexas.com Winnsboro Festival of Books. 2018. May. Winnsboro Center for the Arts presents a celebration of all things literary. Event includes panel discussions, author readings, a children’s performance, and writers’ workshops. Published adult and children authors in attendance. Bowery Pedestrian Park, Downtown Winnsboro. winnsborocenterforthearts.com Eiffel in Love with Quilts. Paris. 2019. May. Presented by the Red River Valley Quilt Guild. parisquiltshow.com Hunt County Festival of the Arts. Greenville. 2022. May. Experience the talents of regional artists and a day with games, vendors, food, and music. Downtown Greenville. travelgreenvilletx.com San Jacinto Music Series. Rockwall. 2014. May-September. Friday and Saturday evenings guests enjoy live music by regional talented singer-songwriters. rockwall.com/mainstreet_music.asp Junebug Music, Makers & Art Show. Ben Wheeler. 2012. June. Art by professional and up-and-coming artisans, live music, Lyra performances, craft cocktails, and kids arts and crafts area. The Forge Bar and Grill. theforgebenwheeler.com Texas Shakespeare Festival. Kilgore. 1986. June/July. High quality, professional theatre productions. texasshakespeare.com Music at the Market Concert Series. Greenville. Free concerts at the Market Square on Sunday evenings. travelgreenvilletx.com East Texas Sacred Harp Convention. Henderson. 1983. August. Although held in Henderson for just a few decades, this annual gathering of shape note singers has a continuous history from 1868, the earliest year noted in its minutes, having missed a few years of meeting because of the American Civil War. Re-established after the war, a large influx of Georgia and Alabama settlers added to its strength. Many are attracted to its folk music aspect using acappella and four part harmony. The convention is the oldest known singing convention in Texas, and the second oldest Sacred Harp Convention in the United States. Henderson Civic Center. easttexassingings.net Winnsboro Cowboy Poetry & Music Gathering. 2019. Fall. Missing two years due to COVID restrictions, this event is going strong consistently now, with exciting performances of music and poetry and fun activities celebrating cowboy culture. winnsborocenterforthearts.com Edom Art Festival. 1972. October. The late potter Doug Brown started this artists-run two-day event soon after he made Edom his home and a hamlet for creativity. It features 60 plus artists with original clothing, paintings, pottery, and mixed media, as well as live music, wine, and food trucks. edomarts.com McKinney Art Studio Tour. McKinney. 2009. November. A self-guided tour featuring more than 60 artists in 20 locations across the community. mastmckinney.org Winnsboro Art & Wine Festival. 2010. November. This popular, juried festival attracts talented participating artists from around the country. In addition to the variety of art, Texas wineries show off award-winning wines by providing tastings and bottles for sale. Specialty foods and other vendors attend as well. Live music provides entertainment on both Friday and Saturday. winnsboroartandwinefestival.com
Please send updates to these lists to pa.geddie@geddieconnections.com.
