Alice Hudders Art Gallery Opens

If you haven’t heard, the Alice Hudders Art Gallery at the Kaskaskia College Vandalia campus opened recently. Even if you are not into art, you owe it to yourself and your family to check it out soon!
We all know that art is not the highest priority in most people’s lives, but art in all its many forms is here to stay, and the Alice Hudders Gallery is a most beautiful addition to the “Things to do in Vandalia” list.
It was some years ago when Vandalia resident Mary Albert O’Neill left funds in her will with specific instructions that the funds be used only in Vandalia, and only for an art-related project to honor her beloved friend Alice Hudders. Both Mary and Alice very much enjoyed art and were artists in their own right.
It was some time after the Fayette County Art Connection was created that the awareness of the funds resurfaced again. After a Rotary presentation by FCAC, Rotarian Jack Johnston, a member of the Kaskaskia Foundation, and Rotarian Dale Timmerman, a CPA who helped manage Mary Albert O’Neill’s accounts, put their heads together and talked about the possibility of using those funds for such an art project at KC. Following up on that some time later, Johnston asked Rotarian Chuck Hutson, who was also a member of FCAC if he would write up some ideas about how the funds might be used for a KC Vandalia building project.
Hutson went right to work and submitted a proposal to Johnston for an art gallery at KC Vandalia. The proposal was heartily received by the Foundation, and after a meeting with KC President George Evans, members of the Foundation, and KC Art Staff, the project was given a green light.
About two years later, the Alice Hudders Gallery at KC Vandalia held a Grand Opening with more than 100 people in attendance. The initial gallery exhibit showcased the work of Fayette County Art Connection members, others connected with Kaskaskia College, and other artists from surrounding communities in the area. A new exhibit will be starting at the end of June and will run through the end of August. Be sure to take some time to check it out!