That’s The Ticket: Season 4, Episode 5. Laura Ballance, Executive Director of The Hudgens Center of Arts & Learning

So Laura, for those who may not be familiar with the Hudgens Center, and bad on them if they don't know already, but tell us about its mission and the role it plays here in Gwinnett County.

Sure.

Thanks, Dan.

So we were established over 45 years ago now as Gwinnett Council for the Arts.

We are on the east side of the Gas South District campus located in a 30,000 square foot facility just next to the Gas South Theater.

And we serve the, as the Hudgens Center for Art and Learning, we serve the community in what I like to call a three-pronged approach.

Mm-hmm.

So we provide inspiring exhibitions, we provide arts education, and we have a very robust outreach program supporting under-resourced, underserved families and individuals throughout our community.

Well, that's great.

So you and I have had this discussion before, but I think that arts and art means different things to different people.

When someone asks you why art matters, what is your answer?

I love that question because I want people to understand that art does matter.

I think too often people just – they dismiss it.

They don't understand the real value.

It's often – I hate to say taken for granted, but it is one of those things that's not – a hot commodity all of the time.

So the answer varies depending upon the person asking the question.

Some people, you know, they want to hear how arts supports our economy, you know, the state GDP, all of that.

So I have that answer.

Others want to know more kind of what it brings to cultural enrichment, community identity, that kind of thing.

So for those who are concerned about the creative economy, I like to talk about the chicken farmers.

So we all love our Chick-fil-A.

Yeah.

And I'm going to look to my number sheet here.

I do know this well, but I don't want to misspeak on numbers.

So, poultry is Georgia's number one agricultural product.