Explore.
We know our community doesn’t stop at our front door. The Arts Council encourages engagement with our community as a whole both through art and in many other ways.
experience.
Educating the public about the arts is an important part of creating a strong community. The Arts Council is constantly striving to bring unique programming directly to our community.
share.
Art makes some of the best gifts out there. Come by the gallery for unique, handmade, one-of-a-kind works to share.
Mission
The mission of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri is to provide a forum for residents and artists of the Southeast Missouri region to explore, experience and share in the diversity and excitement of the visual, literary, performing, culinary, and healing arts.
Educating the public about the arts is something that the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri believes is an important part of creating a sustainable artistic community. We strive to do this in many ways:
Hosting free monthly programs at our gallery, including exhibitions, classes, demonstrations, lectures, and Q & A sessions with locals who are involved with the arts in various capacities, across many disciplines.
Partnering with local schools and community organizations who serve underserved and under-resourced youth to provide after-school, arts education programming
Partnering with local organizations like the VA and Blue Sky Community Center to provide meaningful multidisciplinary arts education programming for veterans and persons with disabilities.
Keeping our newspaper and other media outlets informed of upcoming events and projects so that they may disperse the information residents of our region.
Keeping our members, patrons, and community-members informed about workshops and opportunities for continuing their education in the arts.
Developing meaningful partnerships with artists and arts organizations across the SEMO region to develop programming that is responsive to the needs expressed by communities.
We are always striving to bring the artistic community and the public together through new experiences. If there are any ways you feel that we could improve upon the Arts Council’s implementation of the organization’s mission, please contact us! We would love to hear your suggestions.
Important Announcement
A note to our valued members and followers:
This past Tuesday, we invited members to participate in a meeting regarding our strategic plan to provide a sustainable future for our organization. In the meeting, we discussed a deliberate modification to our organization’s mission statement, and our plans to use collaborative partnerships to transition the arts from the traditional gallery setting, and into the community as a whole. Our primary focus is on multi-disciplinary arts education, improved social outcomes, economic viability, and advocacy.
To that end, in discussing the fiscal viability of our non-profit, we highlighted the fact that we paid almost $40,000 in mortgage costs on our building, only $9,000 of which was applied to our loan principal. Building ownership is now not only untenable, it is a threat to our organization’s mission. Consequently, our board has made the difficult decision to sell the building at 16 N. Spanish. We will continue to prioritize exhibiting the work of our Visual Arts Cooperative, as well as hosting our Children’s Arts Festival, Members Show, and Regional Exhibition. We are honored to be working with the competent team of Jacob Fish of Team Fish and Ashley Roney of Edge Realty during this transition period.
To find out more about the specific details of the conversation, please refer to the presentation used at Tuesday’s meeting.
Kelly Downes
Director
Our Team
Kelly Downes - Director
Kelly Downes grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and moved to Cape Girardeau in 2015. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Humanities (Fine Art/History) from Michigan State University, and holds a second Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education from Southeast Missouri State University.
She is currently serving on the boards of the Missouri Association of Community Arts Agencies (MACAA) and the Jack Finney Foundation, and was awarded the 2022 “Heart for Art” award by the Missouri Art Educators Association. Kelly is a RYT 500-hour trauma-informed yoga instructor, with additional training through Yoga East Healing Arts and Mindful Schools in Non-Violent Communication, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Meditation, and Centering Prayer.
She is passionate about the cross-section of art and activism, and creativity and consciousness, and is particularly interested in the ways that the Humanities can be utilized to create self-sufficient economies, and sustainable prosperity for all living beings. She is very excited to be a part of the arts in the Cape Girardeau community, and hopes that her enthusiasm for all of the arts translates into community engagement with the visual, literary, performing, culinary, and healing arts.
Her life’s greatest joy is her son, Bob.
Lauren Bishop - Gallery Manager
Lauren Bishop is a Cape Girardeau native and often claims she was raised at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) and the Arts Council. Her father was the art history professor at SEMO for most of her childhood so this art community has always felt like home to her. She served on the Arts Council Board as treasurer from 2020 until she became Gallery Manager in 2023.
She received a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies from SEMO with her emphasis areas being art, art history, French, and technical graphics. She spent her last semester of school studying abroad in Angers, France.
Lauren also teaches private violin lessons at the SEMO Music Academy. She serves on the Music Academy Board as well. Aside from teaching, she plays violin in various trio and orchestral gigs. She joined the Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra in fall of 2024.
Her favorite part of being an artist is helping others find their inner creativity. She believes too many people assume that being an artist solely means you paint a picture on canvas, so she wants to help everyone see their own artistic achievements. Whether you love to dance in your house while you clean, can cook a five-star meal, or have thousands of followers on social media because you have perfected making Reels- that is all creativity to be celebrated!