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Shakira Winston, known to her friends as Kira for short, will be one of an estimated 60 local artists exhibiting at Valley Arts Council’s Fall Into the Holidays show and sale the weekend of November 2nd and 3rd at Valley Community Center.

Kira is originally from West Point and now lives in Valley. She’s a 2012 graduate of Troup High School, where art class was her first love.

“I can remember winning a blue ribbon in an art show in West Point when I was in elementary school,” she said. “From then on, I loved all my art classes. It got even better when I got into the upper grades. I could learn such techniques as how to blend colors when you are into realism.”

“I load up every time I go to Hobby Lobby,” she said. “I have lots of oil and acrylic paint. I know I will find a use for all of it.”

Kira is into sports art and will have artwork at the show promoting the Georgia Bulldogs, the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers.

“This will be my first art show at the Community Center, and I’m really excited about it,” she said. “Creating something artistic has always been an escape for me, and I love it.”

Valley Arts Council President Suzie Britt said that’s a great thing about being into art. “You are not worrying about anything,” she said. “You are relaxing and recharging.”

Kira likes bright, colorful things. “That’s my personality,” she said. “I’m a lively person.”

Britt said that Kira is among a number of younger artists who are talented but have not previously shown their works at a Valley Arts Council show. “So many of our artists have passed away,” she said, “We need younger people to step up and take their place and exhibit their work at our shows.”

There’s also a place for older people who haven’t shown their work before. “The more I pursue my love for art and promoting artists, the more I have found that there are older people out there who are very creative but they don’t think of themselves as artists,” Britt said. “They have made beautiful things over the years. We will have people like that in our Fall Into the Holidays show.”

The upcoming show will be for those in the 18 and older age group. The Arts Council is planning on having a show for those who are 18 and younger in February. “2025 will be our silver anniversary,” Britt said. “It will be our 25th year as an arts council, and we want to do something special for our youth. We will have it in the big gym at the Community Center. One side will be for the visual arts and one side for writers.”

Kira sees art as a gift that keeps on giving. “When you give an artwork to someone, it’s more than just art,” she said. “You are giving a part of yourself.”

She has family in and around West Point. Her brothers, Marcus and Anthony are close by as is her sister, Stacy.

She has a pet she really loves, a Jack Russell dog named Daisy.

“I love all kinds of art,” she said. “I have bought a lot of prints and photographs over the years. One of the reasons I am looking forward to the show is that I will get a chance to see the work other local artists are doing. I know it’s going to be really good.”

“Kira is like her art,” Britt said. “She’s a unique person, and her art is unique. You’ll never see anything else like the art she creates. I really love the paintings she has done of a bear, a video game and a really creepy Halloween pumpkin. She has a way of making one-of-a-kind images.”

Kira has donated one of her artworks as a door prize that will be given away to a lucky winner during the show.