The Stillmoreroots Group exists to sponsor art events that display our commitment to create not only challenging, accessible art, but also an environment that inspires community involvement and an experience that provokes thought, dialogue, and new relationships. These art events are half process and half celebration.

The process includes the creation of the art, choosing a location for the event, and inviting members of the community to come to participate. The event is a celebration of those efforts and the ability and willingness of the community to gather together.

Perception of the viewer and intention of the artist are equally valuable elements of these events. The availability and opportunity of communicating the resulting ideas, inspirations, or understanding is vital to the experience of both viewing and creating.

The core purpose of Stillmoreroots is to create art that viewers can connect with in an environment that allows the artist and the art audience to connect with each other.

The vision of Stillmoreroots has developed over the course of the last four years as we have exhibited, worked, and grown as a cohesive group of passionately involved, community-oriented individuals. Each of us has lived in the southern United States and has witnessed the beauty of small town America. Our first exhibition in March of 2003 was held in Stillmore, GA, a town of some 300 people, a former stop on the southeastern train route, a town of migrants and farmers. This a sacred place with historical ties to one of our members- Desmal Purcell- whose family has lived on the land for decades; a vestige of an America we all remembered from our childhood- of dirt roads, family get-togethers, and vast imaginations that inspired dreams bigger than us. Our goals stem from this root.

The Stillmoreroots Group has since exhibited fourteen times since our inaugural show. Our discussions about our goals are daily, our friendships always current and evolving. The seven current members, who once all lived a mere 45 minutes away from each other, moved to three different states (Georgia, New York and Oregon) and five different cities, only return back again to Georgia's rural south in the fall of 2005. The stages we have gone through as a group, along with the constant debates on philosophy and art, have inspired countless breakthroughs on how to effectively create art experiences while developing substantial community involvement and interaction.

It is our goal to become a non-profit organization that develops accessible art programs in under-served communities through theory-based education, hands-on workshops and locally involved exhibitions. As an art advocacy group we hope to demonstrate that art events and exhibitions have the power to create, build and enhance communities. Over the past year we have worked with the Emanuel Arts Council to help the renovation of their facilities, held adult and children's art classes, workshops, lectures and films. We are members of the Emanuel Artists' Guild, and have helped plan Arts Emanuel in 2005 and 2006, as well as participated in group field trips to art exhibits and planned for art murals in Swainsboro.