The Art House is located in historic downtown Ocean Springs, a small art community on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It is the only artist co-op in town, and houses award-winning art by award winning artists.

Ocean Springs' history began in 1699 when the French, led by French Canadian Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, established a beachhead at the present day Ocean Springs in April 1699. The history of the Art House began somewhat later, about a hundred years ago.
It was built by the railroad as a place for railroad workers to sleep on a turnaround. Back then, the house faced Washington Street, and its back was back then then the front of the house, which is on Cash Alley. The palm trees that are still enjoyed now were brought in back then as a gift from Florida. It was also a stable (not the house itself, but barns in the yard) run by a black family.

The Ocean Springs Art Association Co-op Art Gallery was formed in December of 1999 by a group of eight women. It was a dream come true for the art association that had long wanted a place to display their work. Betty Magee was president of the OSAA that year, and spearheaded the transformation from Crack House to Art House. She became Director of the Art House, a position she still holds.

In 1999, the cottage that is now the Art House was run down and in deplorable condition.
It was supposedly vacant, but was suspected as being used by the homeless for various purposes. Larry Cosper, an Ocean Springs businessman, purchased the house to salvage it and the neighborhood. Knowing that the art association had long been looking for a home, offered it to the OSAA co-op rent free for the first few years. Conditions were stipulated that the group had to repair the inside, paint the house, and landscape the grounds. Cosper put in an air conditioner, redecorated the bathroom, repaired the ceilings and installed overhead lights. The rest was done by the Magnificent Eight (the first members of the co-op).

It took the group six weeks to repair, paint and fix the house.
They opened the gallery on January 11, 2000. Its name resulted from a newspaper article that stated that the house was The Art House, so the name stuck. The number of artists who exhibit there has grown from eight to generally around thirty. The Art House has become a viable gallery that showcases some of the best art on the entire Gulf Coast.

Gallery Room I

The Art House is an asset to the neighborhood, and is nestled in a several-block area (just one block behind Washington Avenue) that is known for little galleries and boutiques. It is easy to get to by walking, and is next door to Mocha Moose, a coffeehouse, where our working artists always go to get their lattés, coffee, a sandwich or a wonderful muffin or dessert.

Today:

A wide variety of art is on exhibit.
Almost every week you can find something new.

The Art House is open six days a week, Monday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
Each member takes a turn hosting a day each month.
You may even find an artist painting in the studio area when you visit.

Notice:

All art depicted on this site is copyrighted by the artist and may not be downloaded, copied, duplicated, or used in any manner without permission from the artist.

All photographs are the property of the photographer, and may not be downloaded, copied, duplicated, or used in any manner without permission from the artist

Page contents © 2007 The Art House and Linda S. Nix.