“I am excited to announce the launch of Yellow House, a project I have been working on for almost a year, actually maybe a lifetime! It is a place – an idea – where art + action creates change. There is much more to come, especially about the inaugural exhibition, but I hope you will read this initial Conversation post and visit the website as a first connection to Yellow House.
I am so grateful to the MANY people who have provided support, advice, wise counsel, inspiration, motivation, and love as I begin this new phase of my journey in a community where I hope to make a difference.”
~Hope McMath, former director of the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, on her newest project, Yellow House.
McMath’s past had a yellow house. Her Grandfather returned from World War II and moved to a house in Toledo, Ohio. He painted it yellow.
The yellow house became the center of her family’s universe. It was the place where she and other family members became connected to the arts.
“Yellow House has ties to art history as well. In 1888, Vincent van Gogh rented a house painted yellow in Arles, France. His desire for company and a sounding board guided him to turn the space into a “studio of the south” where artists could live and work together. He created some of his most beloved paintings to decorate the house, including “The Night Café,” “Starry Night over the Rhône,” and four sunflower canvases.”
“Every community needs a Yellow House.” McMath said.
The hub for Yellow House activities is a small building, near the CoRK Arts District.The area is rich in Jacksonville History; home to the affluent as well as the poor. Interstate 10 passes through, dividing the area. Before it’s construction, and after as well, there were other lines, lines of segregation. Some were drawn on maps, others were carved in hearts.
Yellow House sits between two sides of Jacksonville, with the arts as the connection between them.
Yellow House is intended to be a challenging gallery space and community meeting space in one. It’s mission is; Connecting art and community to build understanding, inspire empathy, and spark civic engagement.
Yellow House will open to the public on Aug. 31 with Opening of Small Matters.