The Bowen Center for the Arts is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1995 and incorporated in 1996 under its original name, the Dawson County Arts Council.
The building that now houses the Bowen Center has a history of its own. Known for many years as the Old Rock School, it was built in 1935 with locally quarried stone and funding made available through New Deal public works programs. Over the years, the building served many purposes within the Dawson County school system and community, including space for vocational agriculture, home economics, band, choir, shop classes, a canning plant, and even a mattress-making program.
By the late 1990s, after a new high school had been built, the future of the Old Rock School was uncertain and demolition was being considered. Community members stepped forward to preserve the building, including Arts Council President Grace Privette, who envisioned transforming it into a center for the arts.
With strong community support and the help of major donors, the Dawson County Arts Council began restoring the historic building in January 2000. The approximately $200,000 rehabilitation project was completed later that year, preserving the character of the Old Rock School while creating a permanent home for arts and cultural programming.
The Ralph & Ludy Bowen Center for the Arts was dedicated on September 7, 2000, and welcomed its first art exhibition that fall. In 2001, the restoration received the Preservation Award for Excellence in Rehabilitation from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.
Since then, the Bowen Center for the Arts has continued to grow as a gathering place for creativity, culture, and community. Today, the historic Old Rock School remains at the heart of the Bowen’s identity, connecting its past with an ongoing commitment to visual arts, performing arts, education, exhibitions, and community engagement throughout Dawson County and North Georgia.