After an extensive healthcare career and raising a family near Birmingham, AL., Christy Milliken transitioned her life to the South Walton communities along the Coast of Florida in 2010 just as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened and was a threat to many of the businesses in the area. “I was drawn to the art and architecture along scenic Hwy 30a, but what I admired more during that season was the way the community supported one another. We are a small town with the exception of about 2.5 million tourists each year, but that year as tourism diminished, unity among the locals thrived.” In 2011, Christy became the Managing Partner at Justin Gaffrey Studio & Gallery, where she helped organize and transition many milestone moments in the art community both locally and on an international level. Christy has served on the AAF Board, FPRA Board, South Walton Events Board, and continues to serve helping many of the events in the area such as; Digital Graffiti and 30A Songwriter’s Festival. As life evolved from the gallery partnership, she began a boutique marketing business that helps collaborate with many events throughout the United States — large scale events such as film festivals, music festivals, visual art exhibitions, and other project based work with individual artists in Florida, Alabama, Nashville, Charleston, New York, New Orleans, Atlanta, and California. “My most fascinating project was working with Lynn Novick, Dan White, and the Ken Burns (Florentine Films) team with Artist/Photographer, Alan Messer. The PBS film, Country Music released in 2019, that same year I landed in the hospital with a life threatening staph infection in my spine. It took a lot out of me, but it also helped me refocus and reinvent once again. I felt as though the life I knew was gone and just when I began to feel hope, the pandemic hit and shut down the world. This hit the event community hard and me even harder, after living through my own sort of pandemic just the year before. The strangest part of the pandemic for me was that ironically I just didn’t feel as alone… we were all going through the same thing in separate environments, but together in spirit. I worked with film festivals early in the pandemic to help transition them into an online viewing event, Annapolis Film Festival was the first film festival to pull it off in record time. I also continued to stay connected to event based creatives by helping Geoffrey Platt with his weekly Ahead of the Curve community of innovators and creators, while also launching an art collaboration with iconic Surfboard Shaper, Tim Bessell and Fine Art Photographer, Mark Little. The best part of the pandemic was spending quality time with my daughter as she began the next phase of life after graduating Auburn University. Now that events are back in full swing, connecting again with the creatives in the South Walton community is a lifeline for me. Dave King approached me about working with him to create something special to highlight the talent that surrounds our coastal communities, and of course I said yes!” The Artists chosen for the inaugural SELECTIONS, A Gallery Experience at SOWAL House on September 9th and 10th, include an eclectic variety of artists who are the vision and backbone of our community. The unique aspect of this event is that once the two days end, the artwork will still exist on a 360 Degree Virtual Gallery, creating an interactive media experience and a way for clients to view the work, learn about the artists, and purchase the work. “I am most excited about this aspect, because it is a vision I had about 10 years ago. Along with VOS Media, we have made this all happen within a little over a month. The first launch will allow us to adjust and continue to develop what can be accomplished through this way of viewing, accessing, experiencing, purchasing, space planning, and even rehanging art.” The Artists were asked to create something that they were not usually known for but were inspired by. This Virtual Gallery is a way of giving both the artists and the art collector an unusual gallery experience. Featured Artists include: Allison Wickey, Aria Gaffrey, Chandler Williams, Chris Coleman, David Allen King, Dheron Winfield, Jim Clark, Jonah Allen, Justin Gaffrey, Justin Gaffrey, Jr., Lindsay Tobias, Mark Little, Nicole Paloma, Tommy Crow.

Welcome to the SOWAL House “Selections Gallery Experience”. This is an interactive tour allowing you to explore and interact like never before. Feel free to tour the whole gallery or simply click the red star on an artist’s name to be taken straight to their work. Enjoy!