Janice Mason Art Museum

Introduction

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Established by local residents and opened in 1998, the Janice Mason Art Museum is a community art center that offers a variety of exhibits from local artists as well as traveling exhibits. The museum is located in the town's old post office, which was created as part of a Works Progress Administration project during the Great Depression. The museum schedules 6-10 programs and special exhibits each year, and also offers classes taught by local artists.

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Janice Mason Art Museum is also the institutional home of the Southern Kentucky Independent Theatre.

Backstory and Context

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The site of the Janice Mason Art Museum was originally the Cadiz Post Office before the city's post office was moved to its current location on Lakota Drive. The building was built in 1941 and opened in 1942 as a Works Progress Administration project. Louis A Simon was the supervising architect, and Neal Malick was the supervising engineer. It was built in the Classical Revival style, inspired by the early Virginia architecture at Williamsburg that was being restored at the time. The style was meant to instill a sense of heritage and patriotism. The WPA was a program to alleviate unemployment during the Great Depression. The one-story red brick building has a basement level and a rear loading dock. The interior retains the original wooden vestibule and the original brass mailboxes.

David and Janice Mason, who have Trigg County connections, have been associated with the museum since it opened in 1998. David Mason donated $250,000 to help with the restoration and renovation costs. He wanted to transform the site into the Janice Mason Art Museum to honor his wife and her love of Cadiz and Trigg County. It had been vacant since the new post office opened.

Today, the Janice Mason Art Museum is part of the Cadiz Community Arts Center, which also includes SKIT (Southern Kentucky Independent Theater). They have between eight and 12 gallery exhibits per year and one to three performances per year. They feature local, regional, and national art works. There's also a cultural gift shop. They also offer workshops and classes in multiple artistic disciplines.

Sources

Janice Mason Art Museum, Accessed July 7th 2020. http://jmam.org/

Janice Mason Art Museum | Museum Day, Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed July 7th 2020. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/venues/museum/janice-mason-art-museum/.

Janice Mason Art Museum, Tennessee River Valley. Accessed July 7th 2020. https://tennesseerivervalleygeotourism.org/entries/janice-mason-art-museum/1e072297-2f34-4aef-95ce-582f62513627.

Cadiz Downtown Historic District, National Register of Historic Places. Accessed July 7th 2020. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123851986.

Myers, Sandra. Trigg art museum receives pledge of help from old friends, Kentucky New Era. March 27th 2001. Accessed July 7th 2020. https://www.kentuckynewera.com/article_33712efb-78d9-59af-9eba-c74fc7e63c15.html.

Additional Information

Janice Mason Art Museum Facebook Page