Jerry Brown Arts Festival March 6, 2009

Varied. Authentic. Down-home. Original. These words aptly describe the Jerry Brown Arts Festival in Hamilton, Alabama. The artisans who take part in the festival are much like the man for whom the festival is named, ninth-generation potter Jerry Brown. Brown is original through and through, as are the creations which he forms on his potter’s wheel. The artisans who join him at the festival mirror Brown, for their creations, too, are original and many, like Brown’s, offer glimpses into days gone by.

Naturally, the festival honors Brown, whose work has a place at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. He has received numerous honors and recognitions over the years, including the National Heritage Fellowship in 1992 and the Heritage Award from the Alabama State Arts Council in 2003. Brown, along with the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Area Chamber of Commerce, welcomes these artisans to the city and festival, realizing the quality and variety continue to garner statewide and regional attention.

With Brown’s Pottery continuing to thrive, Jerry Brown’s legacy as an artisan is intact. Now, through Brown’s participation with the festival and sponsorship by the Northwest Alabama Arts Council, the Jerry Brown Arts Festival is moving toward a meaningful legacy as well. This legacy will entail providing a spotlight for accomplished master folk artists to exhibit their talents, even going as far as showing those who attend the festival how they ply their trades. Brown himself is a throwback, digging his own clay and powering his mill with his trusty mule, Ol’ Blue. Those artisans who join him at the festival can also be considered throwbacks, often practicing what can be considered lost arts, such as broom-making, stained-glass, gourd art, and so much more.

An “unbroken tradition” is a phrase often used to describe Jerry Brown’s decision decades ago to follow in his grandfather’s and father’s footsteps. The Jerry Brown Arts Festival is well on its way in following those footsteps from the past and today, creating an unbroken tradition of its own on the strength of artisans who are true originals, through and through.

In its seventh year, the indoor, juried arts festival has grown into one of the most prestigious arts festivals in Alabama and has been selected as a Top 20 event in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society for March 2009.

Official Website: http://www.jbaf.org