Thirty-one years establishes an event as generational. And for 30 of those years, the Midwest Gathering of the Artists has been growing its roots ever deeper with the culturing oversight of Sandra “Sandy” Higgins.
A Carthage resident for 47 years now, Higgins was always an art advocate. She was attending a gallery on the square some 30 years ago when she met local artist Bob Tommey.
“He was talking about doing a show. As I passed by, I turned to him and said, ‘I can do that,’” she recalls.
Tommey was already working on the show with another local artist, Lowell Davis, and business man Danny Hensley, according to the MGA Web site www.4statearts.com/organizations/mga/history.html.
“We started developing it with three or four painters,” says Higgins. That was in December 1978. The painters were David, Tommey, and Ron Crooks, of California. “It started as Western art. Eventually, I convinced him (Tommey) that flowers were good, portraits were good,” she adds.
By year two, there were 20 artists involved, and by 1985 the MGA show would see the addition of Sam Butcher, already famous for his Precious Moments art. Memorial Hall and artCentral eventually teamed up to host the event in 1989.
“We try to add six or seven new artists each year,” says Higgins. This year, 33 artists are included, the last one signing on at the end of July.
Higgins is a full-time volunteer, never wanting to be paid for her directorship, although she spends many hours organizing and arranging all the events. She was honored for her efforts on behalf of not only MGA but the entire artistic culture in this area during a Carthage Chamber of Commerce ceremony held in January 2008.
Heralding Higgins as an art lover and collector, the emcee named her as “Someone to whom art may be almost as necessary as air… Someone with such generosity of spirit that encouraging artists—no matter where they are in their careers—is as natural as sharing a cup of coffee with old friends.
“This is a person who looks after this community and has helped create a community of artists that now extends across the country to ensure that art is regarded as a vibrant, vital, part of the culture of this part of the world.”
Higgins was among a group of Carthage citizens who formed an arts organization that later became artCentral and served as the acting director of that group until 1997, when she opened her own gallery, IMAGINE, on the Carthage square.
“She truly is an ‘Art Angel,’” said one artist, noting Higgins’ donations to scholarships for children to attend artCentral camp and encouragement to new artists. “She also has been known to take portfolios of more established artists with her on vacations, dropping them off at galleries she visits—much like Johnnie Appleseed, only she is planting art seeds from southwest Missouri where ever she goes!” said the artist.
Higgins said she is particularly supportive of young peoples’ artistic efforts, displaying several examples of art by elementary students.
This year’s participants in the Midwest Gathering of the Artists include: Andy Thomas, April David, Bill Snow, Billy Kirk, Bob Tommey, Bobby Hunt, Bob Duffle, Cal Sechrest, Dan McWilliams, Debbie Reed, Don Goin, Doug Hall, Doug Prine, Garnet Buster, Gail McArgel, Jack Sours, Ken Southwick, Kyle Carroll, Laura Reilly, Larry Case, Lowell Davis, Martha Spurlock, Martiena R. Richter, Raymond Popp, Richard Thompson, Robin Putnam, John Fitzgibbon, Roy Lee Ward, Steven Napper, Theresa Rankin, Todd A. Williams, Tricia Courtney, and Karen Honaker.
