Congressman Johnson Tours ART Station and SMart Project

Congressman Hank Johnson was out touring his district Thursday, and Jack Sartain, co-founder of DeKalb Council for the Arts, knew it was a great opportunity to introduce Stone Mountain's art program to the representative. He waved down the bus.

"Had he not stopped, I was going to lie down in the road," Sartain said. 

Sartain said he wanted to show the congressman how important the arts are for Stone Mountain. Johnson agreed.

"The arts are one of the things that help us polish our humanity," Johnson said. They are also part of the economic fabric of the community, and the government has a role in supporting that, he said.

That's certainly the case with SMart Inc., Stone Mountain's art project that's supported in part by a federal HUD grant for small enterprises. It's the first of its kind in the state, according to Sartain. SMart allows artists to run a studio in downtown for a year; the city subsidizes the artists' businesses, taking part of their sales income in return. 

Two SMart galleries opened last year and now have five artists' studios in them. Another two galleries plan to open in the next few months. See this for more details.