about
The El Campo Art Association is a 501 (3)(c) non-profit and gets it funding through annual memberships and fund raisers. We strive to promote art in El Campo and surrounding Wharton County. We offer art classes, painting workshops and host an annual Art Show. We also participate in local events offering creative learning experiences for the youth.
The Art Center
HISTORIC LIBRARY BECOMES THE ART CENTER
In 1982 The ECAA obtained a city owned building to use as an art center. The building was the 1st location of the El Campo Library and was built in 1940. It was in dire need of repairs with a badly leaking roof and the city was using it for storage.
They met with the city and asked if the Art Association could have the building if they would refurbish it and take on the up keep. The city gave them a time limit to complete repairs and the challenge was met. The framing of this old building was cinder block with brick on the outside and brick on the inside with concrete plaster for the walls. The plaster was stripped and replaced with new concrete plaster. The ceilings' rotting wood railings had to be completely replaced to hold new ceiling tiles. Wood trimming was replaced and the tarsal tile floors where refinished.
The group completed the repairs ahead of schedule and also landscaped the wonderful and historical building that is now known as the Art Center.
In 2011 the ECAA went to a city council meeting and requested to have the roof repaired. Funding would be met by fund raisers so the repair would not cost the city or tax-payers a dime. The city said yes and at the end of the meeting, BFI Waste Management donated $1000 to help start the fund raising. Bless their generosity!
Today the Art Center serves as a meeting place for members to have meetings, paint and socialize. The Art Center offers adult and student classes and hosts art workshops.
Our History
The Art League, now known as the El Campo Art Association, was founded in 1958 by a group of art loving ladies. Today, 63 years later, the ECAA continues to promote art and art education in El Campo and Wharton County. In the early years they held art meetings in the homes of art league members but as numbers continued to grow they began meeting in several different facilities to accommodate the larger group. In 1959 the Art League hosted their first art show in El Campo. The art show remains to this day an annual event for El Campo Art Association members and non-members alike.
“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”