830 High will host its inaugural art show opening on Friday, August 5 from 5-8pm during August First Friday in Downtown Macon. The show will feature three local artists: Anna Richards, Erin Hawkins, and Rudy Mendes, who all work in the office and coworking space located in the historic building on 830 High Street. The event is free and open to the public. 

 

Wimberly Treadwell, owner of 830 High, transformed the historic Downtown building into professional office spaces with the intention of creating a flexible work environment. The building has individual offices along with an open-plan area to allow for people to connect and share ideas with co-workers and local entrepreneurs. Wimberly had also envisioned the open space, with its exposed brick and plaster walls, as being perfect to showcase local art and artists. The space's first art show features artists who are current office tenants at 830 High and will be on display for 3 months.  New art shows will occur every quarter. 

 

The first three featured artists are all local to Macon, with their distinct work shown throughout the spaces in the building. More about each artist and their work is listed below, with photos attached:

 

Anna Richards is a visual artist based in Macon, GA. Her work balances internal reflection with external observations that she captures with a variety of mediums. This current series of abstract work titled "Sound and Vision" is a collection of paintings inspired by her travels over the past year and the connections that occur when experiencing new places. "I pick up on light, sound, and landscape - both natural and artificial. All of these elements come together and trigger memories, feelings, and my imagination. I love capturing these visceral reactions and experiences, either with photo, video or audio, and then translating them into another medium. This translation can often look chaotic, but I love processing through painting and making something beautiful from all the noise." 

 

Originally from Nashville, TN, Anna has been a Maconite since 2015 and is heavily involved in Macon's art scene. She previously served as the Gallery Assistant at Macon Arts Alliance before taking on her current role as Program Assistant at Knight Foundation. When she is not making art, she is passionate about supporting other local artists and building the creative community. She has hosted several artist conversations through On The Table Macon, is creator of the Macon Artists Group, co-founded Creative Conversations, and served on the Steering Committee for the Macon Cultural Master Plan. In 2021, she was named the Downtown Ambassador by NewTown Macon for their Partners in Progress Awards and volunteers for the Downtown Hype Team. In May 2023, she will be graduating as a non-traditional student at Wesleyan College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art. 

 

Erin Hawkins is a designer and artist in Macon, GA. After several years as an art director in the corporate world, in 2013 she created Mama Hawk Draws to pursue her passion of graphic design and hand lettering. Her work can be seen throughout the city, from designs on signs and t-shirts to murals covering the streets throughout downtown Macon. She believes in the importance of community and supporting other women small business owners. Erin is the co-founder of Creative Conversations and serves on the board for Macon Periods Easier. She is passionate about exposing kids to art and showing them how they can use it to impact their lives and society. Erin has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design from James Madison University. 

 

"In this new series of paintings, I've created images of nature - such as leaves, flowers and rainbows - using many layers of paint and other media to explore the complexity of self doubt and imposter syndrome. These paintings bring optimism and whimsy to a room, evoking good vibes through the use of bright colors so that the subjects poke through the paint, representing how we must persevere through and grow from hard experiences." 

 

Rudolph "Rudy" Mendes' work is influenced by graffiti art and hip hop music. He states that his work is about making connections between objects that he discovers. He feels that the found objects he uses have an energy that influences the construction of his mixed media creations. He often works in collaboration with his wife Carolyn, a quilter and textile artist. 

 

Mendes earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Howard University in 1996. He relocated to Macon in 1998 where he continued his education by studying welding at Central Georgia Technical College. Since coming to Macon he has been very active in the local art scene. He has exhibited widely throughout Middle Georgia and the Mid-Atlantic region since 1999. Locally he has exhibited, juried art shows, and conducted workshops at Macon Arts Alliance, Tubman Museum, and Museum of Arts and Science, as well as created many public art projects around the city. In 2005, he received the Macon Arts Cultural Award. Rudy also serves as the Education Program Coordinator for Bike Walk Macon, where he instructs an array of educational classes on bicycle and pedestrian safety, traffic laws, and so much more.