The Batesville Area Arts Council, in partnership with the Lyon College art program, invites you to immerse yourself in creativity at the Art Walk on Main Street Friday, May 2 from 5 – 7 p.m. This event is a self-guided viewing of artwork in various locations on Main Street, and is FREE and open to the public for all ages.
The Batesville Area Arts Council’s Gallery on Main (226 E Main) will host a reception that evening for their 13th Annual National Juried Exhibition. Awards will be announced starting at 6 p.m. Award sponsors include First Community Bank, Carter Ford State Farm, and Fuller Bumpers Attorney at Law.
Lyon College Art students from Cody Norton’s Drawing I class will have their artwork displayed on the third floor of Landers Theater (332 E Main). Gallery 246 (243 E Main) will also host a reception for their featured artist, Nancy Weaver.
Also happening this month through June 13 is the
13th Annual BAAC National Juried Exhibition
The Batesville Area Arts Council is pleased to present the 13th Annual BAAC National Juried Exhibition, April 29 – June 13, 2025, featuring the work of 23 artists from nine different states.
This year’s exhibition was juried by Kat Wilson, an experimental artist from Northwest Arkansas.
Cathy Drew is a lifelong resident of the region that she loves to promote. She was born in downtown Batesville in the late ’60s, located in one of the eight counties she now enjoys encouraging people to visit.
Drew became associated with the Ozark Gateway Region in 1990 while working at the ad agency (The Media Market Inc.). The agency handled marketing for the regional association, where she and her co-workers produced an annual tabloid publication. She began working as the Ozark Gateway Region director in June 2000.
After Drew became director, she took the region to the next level by helping the tourism organization create a new website and moved it from the old newspaper paper tabloid publication to a color magazine format. She helped open a visitor center for the Ozark Gateway, allowing visitors to pick up information from the entire state 24/7. Over the years, Drew has helped the organization meet new marketing goals, such as in- and out-of-state marketing, assuring that all 100,000 copies of their magazines are distributed each year.
In 2016, she assisted in creating the first Ozark Gateway Region Golf Classic. The tournament continues to grow each year, allowing the organization to expand its co-op program and helping each county have dedicated promotion. Drew stays busy at Ozark Gateway as the ad sales manager, magazine editor, day-to-day office operations, trade show representative, and magazine distribution representative, all while ensuring that the region is represented all over Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Drew was featured in several local and statewide publications over the years, as well as the 1997 cover of the Ozark Gateway Region tabloid, along with her then 4-year-old son, Jon. She has received several awards, such as the Batesville Rotarian of the Year in 2010 and a three-time Paul Harris Fellow.
She also has served as an Independence County election commissioner for several years. She now serves as their co-election coordinator, helping with behind-the-scenes management of voting equipment, day-to-day election deadlines, and poll worker training.
Drew is Batesville Rotary Club Past President, and is the Rotary Clubs’ current membership chair.
In March of 2018, Drew was honored with induction into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame for her many years of dedicated service to the tourism industry.