Gov. Nathan Deal and First Lady Sandra Deal announced today that nine Georgia communities have been selected to host the state’s first traveling art exhibit. Featuring 28 pieces from Georgia’s state art collection, the exhibit is sponsored by the Georgia Council for the Arts in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Tourism Division and the Georgia Humanities Council.

“The traveling exhibit is an opportunity to use the state art collection as a springboard for additional arts and culture activities that serve to celebrate and increase awareness for the local cultural community and to increase tourism,” said Deal. “Sandra and I hope that this collection will inspire visitors and local citizens to learn more about Georgia’s artistic heritage and current artists, and to Explore Georgia.”

The state art collection, owned and managed by the Georgia Council for the Arts, is an extensive, vibrant chronicle of work created by Georgia artists from the 1970s to the 1990s. The new exhibit, “Inspired Georgia: 28 Works from Georgia’s State Art Collection,” is the first of its kind in decades, and highlights the diversity of styles, media and techniques in the collection. Original works from some of Georgia’s iconic artists including Benny Andrews, Lucinda Bunnen, Herbert Creecy, Howard Finster, Ruth Laxson and Nellie Mae Rowe are featured in the exhibit.

Over the next 14 months, the following Georgia communities will host the exhibit for six to eight weeks: