Gulf Coast Artist Ann Dinwiddie Madden will curate three art shows at Coast Episcopal School’s Gail Keenan Art Center throughout the 2024-2025 School Year, according to Head of School Jake Winter.  The current season will be the third year of Madden orchestrating shows at the independent school in Long Beach.

“Having Ann Madden as our official curator is not only a privilege, it raises the bar for the participating artists and the art lovers who attend our events,” said Winter.

Ann’s photographs and mixed media pieces have been shown at galleries all over the United States.  She splits her time behind the camera between New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  Ann owned and operated Smith & Lens Gallery with Sandy Maggio, silversmith, for six years in Old Town Bay St. Louis. Perpetually on the hunt for collaborators, unexpected beauty and new adventures, the CES/GKAC/ANN MADDEN Partnership, in addition to enhancing the Long Beach independent school’s art shows, will support her search for new artists.  Ann’s personal and most recent work can be viewed on her Instagram portfolio @annmaddenphotography and website https://www.annmaddenphoto.com

“My goal, in organizing these shows, is to make them inviting and exciting in memory of the incredible Gail Keenan, for whom the gallery is named. It’s an honor to play a role in providing wonderful opportunities for artists of all ages,” stated Ann.

Each of the three shows Ann is curating will include a 5 – 7 pm evening opening reception featuring cuisine created by Colette Weber of Proost.

 Legends, September 13-November 1, will open with a wine and cheese reception on Friday, September 13 and will feature the works of powerhouse artists Kat Fizpatrick, Erica Larkin Gaudet, Mitchell Gaudet, Ellen Ellis Lee and Ruth Miller.

Kat Fitzpatrick of Bay Saint Louis and a former instructor at Coast Episcopal School works in encaustic – pigmented wax, painted in layers.  For additional information regarding her talents:  https://thecarongallery.com/collections/kat-fitzpatrick#artist-collection-about

Erica Larkin Gaudet of Carriere is a sculptor who primarily welds metal as her medium.  She has her work in many public and private art collections and has spearheaded several public art projects  involving students on the MS Gulf Coast.  Most recently the Waveland Public Art Enterprise.  More on Erica can be found here: https://www.ericalarkingaudet.com/about

Erica’s husband, Mitchell Gaudet, regards himself primarily as a glass caster who ladles molten glass out of a furnace and into a mold. He likes to make objects of desire with “a funky historical presence to them.” Mitchell Gaudet incorporates found objects into his work often indirectly by the abstraction of the object in the casting process. The artist approaches his work in a narrative manner telling a story with both his shows and his individual pieces.

The Gaudets also have led the development of two neighborhood arts revitalizations, created and managed artists spaces and established two successful art galleries, Studio Waveland Gallery & Studio Inferno Gallery.

Ellen Ellis Lee is a sculptor and costume designer. She is a native of Laurel and the daughter of two longtime educators. She retired in 2000 to Ocean Springs after enjoying a 40-year career in Broadway theatre costume design in New York City.  Ellen creates one-of-a-kind mixed media figurative sculptures, vases, and wall art.  Learn more about Ellen here: ) https://www.gulfportartscenter.com/project/ellen-ellis-lee/

Picayune’s Ruth Miller developed a love of making art and doing needlework as a child.  Later, she combined the two and began to create embroidered art as an alternative to painting.  Gradually, she leaned toward making portraits of actual individuals. Her detailed work can takes years to complete and is collected by major museums all over the US. Her work is featured here: https://ruthmiller-embroidery.weebly.com

 Sweet Dreams are Made of This, January 17- February 28, 2025.  Ann will be featuring her own works in this winter show and, to date, also has secured works by Carmen Lugo of Biloxi and Jenny Day of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Paper Fools, March 28-May 9, 2025, is back by popular demand, as it was well received at the Gail Keenan Art Center in 2022 and 2023, and, in 2025, Madden’s vision for the invitational show is to celebrate the 160th publishing anniversary of Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

The Gail Keenan Art Center was dedicated in February 2011 to the memory of the recognized ceramic artist and printmaker who was born in 1940 in New Orleans and passed away in February 2005.  Ms. Keenan’s ties to the MS Gulf Coast were strong throughout her lifetime, during which she had works exhibited in Santa Cruz, CA; New Orleans, LA; Chicago, IL; Kansas City, KA; Ocean Springs, MS; Camden, ME; and Boston, MA, Ms. Keenan’s love for the arts continues to be honored in the works created and exhibited in the Coast Episcopal School signature art center.

Coast Episcopal School is dedicated to a life-long love of learning by developing the whole child – mind, body and spirit – and providing a joyful, unique, and nurturing Judeo-Christian community that inspires its students to imagine and create a better world.   Founded in 1950, CES is a member of the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS).  For additional information:  Coast Episcopal School, 5065 Espy Avenue, Long Beach MS  39560.   228-452-9442  coastepiscopalschool.org