WHO:
AC Reeves
ALUMNI YEAR:
2019
Community:
Selma, AL
Meet AC Reeves
Every community needs both dreamers and doers, and the City of Selma is lucky enough to have both in AC Reeves (YTA ’19). Reeves is an artist, developer, realtor, business owner, and tour operator – her days stay busy. Reeves also spends her days trying to bring people together. She has been a catalyst in Selma, spurring economic development in a city known for its connection to the fight for voting rights and the violence against marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Just down the street from the bridge in the city’s historic downtown is one of Reeve’s most treasured spaces: a renovated Woolworth building. The bottom floor is home to Reeves’ 5 & Dime, which is not your normal restaurant. A chalkboard in the space says that it is a place to “share space, meals, stories, [and] information.” Guests are encouraged to sit family style to promote that culture of sharing. Above the restaurant are Reeves’ Woolworth Lofts, five lofts that offer visitors a unique stay and access to Selma’s downtown.
AC's Story: Embracing Installations
Reeves understands that to make an economic impact on Selma’s downtown, there needs to be activity to draw visitors.
“I’m always trying to animate our downtown,” she says. The 5 & Dime serves as a space for Reeves to host events for the community and to experiment with new ideas. Some people call these ‘pop-ups,’ but the artist in Reeves considers them installations.
“An installation sounds a little more sturdy. You can get away with trying things out, and then pivot,” she says.
Her installations give people a reason to visit downtown, bringing people together and spurring economic development. Reeves says that when she opened the lofts, Selma had fewer than 10 Airbnbs (five of which belonged to her). Less than five years later, Selma has over 65.
Alabama communities can learn from artists by embracing installations. Installations by nature are not permanent – they might just last a year or two. They give artists permission to transform a space into something new. They give communities that permission, too.
Transformation is a friend to AC Reeves. A self-described “crazy cousin” to Ms. Frizzle, the magic schoolteacher, Reeves says the space within the 5 & Dime is like the magic school bus. It can be changed to fit the changing needs of the community.
Reeves realized that Selma needed community-building opportunities. So, the 5 & Dime transformed to fit that need.
Installation 1: Love Letters to Selma
Over the course of two years, 25 artists visited Selma for a month at a time to transform Reeve’s space. They would paint the center window of the 5 & Dime and write a love letter to Selma on the neighboring window. Each month, Reeves would host a day for the community to come check out the new art in a way Reeves described as people “coming together over art and tomato sandwiches.”
Montgomery artist Kay Sasser Jacoby painted the first and final window displays
Kay's final love letter to Selma
Reeves partnered with the Selma & Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Information to host Business AfterHours receptions for each of the monthly artists. Local businesses would often sponsor individual receptions.
Tomato sandwiches are key to a successful gathering at the 5 & Dime
Reeves’ daughter, Lizzie, with renowned Selma artist Charlie “Tin Man” Lucas
Selma artist Afriye We-kandodis encouraged residents to join in and make their mark on the good coming out of Selma
Reeves’ mother and daughter collaborated on a painting showcasing a scene of Selma
Installation 2: Culinary Arts
After the window installations, Reeves wanted a space for people to gather over food. She started a six-month installation with a rotation of six chefs. Each month, a new chef would take over downstairs and create a daily menu with a limited number of lunch plates. The chef would stay in the Woolworth Lofts during their residence so they can explore Selma in their downtime.
Reeves encouraged guests to sit down together family-style and get to know the other guests. She says, “When we are close to one another, we get to see who each other are, we’re not scared of each other, and we then can get stuff done.”
Getting to know each other doesn’t have to be scary. Food makes that easier. Reeves uses brownies as a place to start, posing the question: “Do you like the crispy part or the gooey part?”
“That’s where we can begin. We don’t have to begin with the really hard things, because that shuts us down. For us to be able to work together as a community, we have to get to know each other.”
AC at Your Town Alabama
The connections Reeves made at Your Town Alabama have been invaluable. Reeves has been a catalyst in her community long before she set foot in YTA’s workshop, which she attributes to what she calls an “independent study” with YTA founding member Cheryl Morgan. She would get a nugget of wisdom from Morgan, work on implementing that idea, and then go back for more.
But at times, Reeves felt alone in her efforts. Coming to the YTA workshop showed Reeves that Alabama is full of dreamers and doers just like her.
“People here are thinking I’m just a nut,” she said of her time before the workshop. “Then all of a sudden you’re in an organization with a bunch of other nuts that can see that you can get this stuff done.”
Reeves reminisced on the community building that takes place at the workshop. “You get really tight with these people,” she said as she laughed, spilling that she was moved to tears on her first night at the workshop.
Reeves’ love for community building is apparent in her efforts to bring the people of Selma together through various installations. “Community and collaboration are what gives me life.”
AC's Recommendations
Reeves encourages Alabama communities to “embrace the artists.” She explains, “In economic development, you need a risk taker, you need a catalyst, you need the artist.” By working together and trying new things, leaders can create brighter futures for their communities.
Reeves also encourages community leaders to “See what’s working. If somebody’s doing something, they’re actually getting something done, figure out how you can help them. If they’re doing something in your community that you like, then work hard to help them continue that, or figure out what you can do.”
“In economic development, you need a risk taker, you need a catalyst, you need the artist.”
A personalized tour of Selma from Reeves is a great way to get to know the city she calls home
Exploring Selma
The story of Selma’s participation in the push for voting rights needs to be told, but Reeves acknowledges that it’s a narrow perspective of Selma. She aims to showcase Selma in a three-dimensional way. At tourselma.com, she highlights her favorite picks for visitors, a free app that leads travelers through a walking tour of the city, and an option for visitors to get a guided tour from the artist herself.
During these tours, Reeves connects travelers to many of the people who lived in Selma during the Voting Rights Movement and the special places that make up the “many different layers of this 12 layer cake she calls home.”
