SMAC show focuses on Ozarks

In its upcoming art exhibit, the Southern Missouri Arts Connection (SMAC) will be featuring two native Missouri artists, Dana Neuenschwander and Lura Faye, who are collaborating to bring the Ozarks backwoods to life in their art show “Echoes of the Ozarks.” The exhibit runs until March 25 in the SMAC Art Center gallery on historic Downing Street in Hollister.

Neuenschwander, a painter, and Faye, a sculptor, combined their passion for Missouri forests for this collection with both two- and three-dimensional works, some individual pieces and others collaborative. The collection has acrylic paintings, mixed media and sculptural pieces, with intense colors and lush textures. “We want the viewers to feel a sense of child-like wonder as they wander through the show,” Faye said.

“I hope that they can practically hear the rustling of leaves, see the dappled lights and feel the velvety moss,” Neuenschwander added.

Each month during their exhibits, SMAC highlights one of the many local nonprofit org-

anizations that serves the area. This month SMAC is drawing attention to House of Hope, which offers services to the homeless in the Branson area, including a warming center for freezing nights. They connect their clients to resources so they can make positive changes that will move their lives forward.

Southern Missouri Arts Connection (SMAC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit local center of creativity, art education, innovation, and community partnership, strives to improve the quality of life in southern Missouri by connecting individuals with the arts, for the benefit of all.