WE ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE MUSEUM WILL BE REOPENED FOR THE SUMMER 2011 TOURIST SEASON AND WILL BE LOCATED IN BAY ST. LOUIS'S HISTORIC TRAIN DEPOT AND RUN BY THE CITY OF BAY ST. LOUIS. OUR THANKS TO MAYOR LES FILLINGAME FOR HIS LEADERSHIP.
Temporararily, (we hope) the Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum. is closed to the public.
In 1994, my Mother and I decided to open the Museum, as a tourist attraction for Bay St. Louis, and even more importantly as a non-profit charity funded by income derived from the liquidation of our combined estates after our deaths.
I recently turned 73 and my thinking is that if ,the Museum is to survive, planning needs to begin now,while I am still alive and able to help. Running a Museum and keeping it open 5 days a week is hard work and I am extremely appreciative of the many hours Lisa Bouis and Linda Lou Nelson have devoted to the Museum, but we are tired This is the moment when we need someone or, even better, many someone’s to step forward. to take the baton from us..We all want my mom's paintings to be on display and preferably in Bay St. Louis. Mayor Fillingame has has expressed his strong interest in locating the Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum in one of the, soon to be restored, historic buildings in Bay St. Louis. I am planning to use 214 Bookter St. as my residence. Longer term, the property at 214 Bookter St. creates a dilemma: Should it ,after I am gone,be home to the Museum ,once again or should it, and my antiques be sold to provide additional funds for the Alice Moseley Charities? . My mother loved her house at 214 Bookter St. as do I but I think that she would prefer to have more funds available to help other people and do more towards making this world a kinder and a better place.
I also want to thank and Doug St. Amant for his many volunteer hours spent restoring the Museum building..
There is an old saying,that states that when one door closes another one opens Let us all hope that it holds true for our Museum. .
I think the Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum is important for the future of tourism in Bay St. Louis. The Museum always leaves visitors with a smile on their face and joy in their hearts after experiencing the force of nature that was Alice Moseley. We also are pleased to be mentioned recently in national publications along with the George Ohr and Walter Anderson as primary tourist attractions on the Gulf Coast.
-Tim Moseley
P.S,. Century Hall,run by my mom's dear friends Ann Tidwell and Vicky Niolet has been selected as the location of the Alice Moseley Museum Gift Shop and my mom's prints,dvd's and book are on sale there.
