Who We Are

Our Mission

The mission of Alabama Contemporary is to support cultural production, provide space for courageous conversations that shape identity, and seed growth in the greater creative economy. We support living artists, and through our educational, public and curatorial programs advocate for human dignity and a diversity of perspectives. We strive to be a partner, resource and light in the Deep South.

About Us

Founded in 1999, Alabama Contemporary Art Center is a non-profit contemporary arts center on the outer edge of the deep Deep South, in the port city of Mobile, Alabama. We are a non-collecting organization that is committed to the work of living artists. We serve our community by originating ten to twelve exhibitions a year, adhering the W.A.G.E. certification standards in all of our work, offering public programming, adult and children’s education, and outreach programming. Through guest curatorship, artist residencies, and the commission of new work we create sustainable opportunities for curators and artists worldwide to make work, take risks, and explore divergent paths.

Our Building

We are located in the old press register building in historic downtown Mobile. Our main entrance is off Cathedral Square in the heart of downtown. Our first floor boasts of 16 thousand square feet of exhibition space used for rotating exhibitions and site specific installations. On the third floor we have that same quantity of space for education, performances and public programs.

Our Community

For our community we provide a third space free of cultural or political bias, where individuals can find and create meaning. By holding space for difference, empathetic communication of ideas, and diverse cultural representation, we play an integral role in building a sense of cultural identity with our community that contributes to the quality of life in Mobile.

Land Acknowledgment

It is important to us to understand the history that has brought us here, and to understand our place within that history. Alabama Contemporary Art Center is located on the original homeland of the Chahta Yakni (Choctaw) indigenous peoples and west of Mvskoke (Muscogee / Creek) lands. This acknowledgement is an expression of gratitude and appreciation to those whose territory we reside on, and a way of honoring the Indigenous people who have stewarded this place long before colonization. Acknowledgment is a small gesture, a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s culture and history. Our hope is toward acknowledging the humanity and dignity of indigenous peoples, and to work toward correcting trauma, building equitable relationships and reconciliation. For more information visit https://native-land.ca. 

OUR STAFF

elizabet elliott
Executive Director/Curator

Elliott joined Alabama Contemporary in November of 2018. Elliott has been curating since 2009 at both the grass-roots and institutional level. Prior to coming to Alabama Contemporary she served 5 years at the Mobile Museum of Art, and 4 years as the founding director of the Rumor Union, a grass roots community art organization that organized site-specific installation, performance and new media festivals, cross-disciplinary collaborations, outreach and education projects, and guerrilla exhibitions. Elliott has also served on several boards and in community action groups, including 2 years as Vice President of the Creative Wellness Foundation. She received her BFA with First Class Honours from Massey University in Wellington, New Zealand in 2009, and her MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from Goddard Collage in Port Townsend, WA in 2014, with a focus on social/civic practice. She enjoys action movies and dirty jokes.

elizabet@alabamacontemporary.org

Glenn Robertson
Director of Storytelling

Glenn joined ACAC in April 2022, and brought with her almost a decade of arts administration and nonprofit experience. She has a BA in Art from Sewanee: The University of the South and a MA in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans. When not crafting and sharing stories that celebrate artists and their work, she enjoys escapades with her toddler, antique stores, scary movies, propagating plants, and rearranging her house on the regular. She is our resident social media analyst, editor, and self-proclaimed welcoming committee.

glenn@alabamacontemporary.org

Allison Skoda
Curator

Allison has been on staff since January 2012, and has loved seeing Alabama Contemporary’s identity come to fruition. She attended University of South Alabama, has called Mobile home for 16 years, and during that time has watched Mobile’s creative community grow and thrive. She would describe her style as “grandma chic” and her personality as a “walking exclamation point”. She is a professional optimist and cheese enthusiast. Allison oversees curatorial logistics and public programs.

allison@alabamacontemporary.org

Micah Mermilliod
Curator

Micah has been with Alabama Contemporary since September 2020. He helps manage internal exhibition processes, facilitate communication with exhibiting artists, and handles registrar duties for incoming artwork. He is a practicing artist with a BFA in Studio Art concentrating in photography and printmaking and in May 2022 received an MFA in Creative Technology and Practice from the University of South Alabama. A fan of the new and old alike, he enjoys sci-fi, vinyl records, gardening, and scavenging thrift stores.

micah@alabamacontemporary.org

Tyrese Bess
Program Manager
Opportunities & Administration

Tyrese Bess is a Mobile, AL native, proud Panther, and Bishop State Community College grad. Tyrese has a deep love and appreciation for all things organization and must owe that to many years of experience working within the legal field here in Mobile County. She has served the community both professionally and personally in various roles, including as a mentor to the youth within the justice system and working with various organizations like BBBS, Mobile County Coalition Against Bullying, and The Africatown Heritage Foundation. Tyrese hopes to continue making impacts greater than herself through her work as the Program Manager for the Verdant Fund and other opportunities here at ACAC. Tyrese is currently completing a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Sociology, Psychology, and Intercultural Competency at Troy University and spoiling her cat Prym(:

tyrese@alabamacontemporary.org

Garrett Grimes
Special Events Manager

Garrett Grimes Timme is a highly successful local drag artist with two years of experience in events planning and design and six years of involvement in the local arts scene. Through their self-managed art they have been given the opportunity to work with several local charities and organizations to create as well as direct show-stopping events that range from community outreach fundraisers to parties, concerts and weddings. In their free time you can find them watching horror movies, designing clothes and building terrariums for all of their creepy, crawly pets. Garrett oversees event rentals and event-based fundraising here at Alabama Contemporary Art Center.

garrett@alabamacontemporary.org

2023 Annual Report

2022 Annual Report

2021 Annual Report

FY2019-2020 Annual Report

Our Board of Directors (alphabetical) 

Thomas J. Adams, Ph.D
USA Department of Integrative Studies

Susie Bowman, Education Committee
Independent Artist and Educator 

Chandra Brown, Board Chair
Executive Director of Lifelines Counseling Services

Colleen Comer, Development Committee
Independent Artist and Educator 

Julie H. Friedman
Alabama State Council on the Arts

Anitra Belle Henderson
President & Founder: Lyvve Investment Group

Dr. Raoul R. Richardson, BLACC Co-Chair
Baheth Research & Development Laboratories LTD.

Terrance DeShaun Smith
Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellow, Johns Hopkins University

Hon. Mike C. Dow (Ex-Oficio)
Former 16-year Mayor of Mobile

Carol S. Hunter (Ex-Oficio)
Downtown Mobile Alliance

Edward C. Mathes (Ex-Oficio)
Mathes Brierre Architects

Paige A. Vitulli, Ph.D (Ex-Oficio)
USA Integrative Studies and Department of Leadership and Teacher Education