Built in 1914, the barn was part of a working farm that the old Athens Lunatic Asylum established on its grounds. It was saved from demolition in the 1970s and turned into the arts center. The gallery hosts exhibitions of quilts, ceramics, paintings, photography and other works by regional artists that change four times per year. Free bluegrass and jazz concerts take place on the patio on Friday evenings in summer.
The center offers heaps of reasonably priced art classes where you can learn to make pottery, jewelry, mosaics, quilts and more.
The Ridges Cemetery Nature Walk departs from across Dairy Lane and takes you past three eerie cemeteries where asylum residents are buried.
