Remembrance: Jimmy Carter left a legacy in the arts of Georgia and the country

Former President Jimmy Carter died on December 29, leaving a legacy across the arts in Georgia and throughout the country.

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When President Jimmy Carter passed away December 29 at the age of 100, the world didn’t just lose a proud Georgian, a politician and a humanitarian. It lost a man for whom the arts were an essential, everyday part of the fabric of his life.

Born in Plains, Georgia, Carter served as governor of Georgia from 1971to 1975 and then as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. His love of the arts, though, spanned his entire life.

He was known for his love of classical music and poetry, for his paintings, his woodworking and the 32 books he wrote, including a children’s book he penned with daughter Amy. He also received three Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album, the last of which was in 2019, as well as a Nobel Peace Prize.

He supported the arts and his relationships became personal. Among the artists and organizations he interacted with over the years, Carter and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) had a remarkable bond. According to Ashley Mirakian, vice president of marketing and communications for the ASO, Carter would attend ASO performances often and became friends with Robert Shaw, who conducted the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra from 1967 to 1988.

“Classical music was part of his soundtrack,” Mirakian says. “He was always listening to artists that were local to Georgia, and that meant a lot of the artists who were here.”

He was interested in a wide variety of music and saw the value of the ASO — “and would take a break from daily life and come hear us play.” The first large contribution Carter received when running for governor of Georgia was $1,000 from Shaw.

The ASO performed at Carter’s inauguration on January 18,1977, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, with Shaw conducting, and later at the opening of the Carter Presidential Library on October 1, 1986. Last year, the chamber chorus played at Rosalynn Carter’s service at The Carter Center.

2024’s “Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song” event at the Fox Theatre in September honored Carter’s 100th birthday and his decades of achievements. Among the performers present were Chuck Leavell, Bebe Winans, India.Arie, The B-52s, Carlene Carter and the ASO’s Chamber Chorus.

Chuck Leavell of the Allman Brothers met Carter when he was the governor of Georgia in 1973. “We were recording the Highway Call record for Dickey Betts, his first solo record, and we got word that he was coming to Capricorn Studios,” said Leavell via email. “Most of us thought: ‘OK, this will be a quick photo; he’ll be here for maybe 20 minutes or so.’ In fact, he stayed close to two hours. He was genuinely interested in the recording process, showed a love of music, asked great questions and also showed interest in promoting Georgia music. We were all quite amazed and impressed.”

When band members heard that Carter would be running for president, they were somewhat shocked, but, having met him personally, they all believed that he would make a great president. Because a relationship had already begun, they volunteered to help.

“This was the first year that the U.S. government would match the funds raised in these kinds of settings,” said Leavell. “So we did at least two fundraisers for him, one in Atlanta at the old Omni and one in Providence, Rhode Island, I believe. We were happy to do them, and they were great concerts. Other bands and artists also came onboard: Charlie Daniels, The Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie. It was exciting for all of us.”

Carter and Leavell stayed in touch over the years, initially through letters, which became one of his trademarks.

While Atlanta and the state are known today for being meccas for the film and TV industries, that was not always the case. In 1973, a year after the hit film Deliverance was made in Georgia, Carter started the State Motion Picture & Television Advisory Commission. His hope was to promote Georgia as a filming location. According to Paige Alexander, CEO of the Carter Center, establishing the commission is a major reason the area is as prolific as it is today.

Before his passing, Carter had been in hospice since February 2023 and largely out of the public eye, but one of his last acts was to vote for Kamala Harris for president.

Services will be held both in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, with a private burial later in Plains.

Leavell thinks Carter’s legacy as a politician and arts lover has already been long established. “He is an artist himself, with his amazing talents as a carpenter and woodworker. But he has such a high regard and reverence for the arts in all facets — music, visual arts, performing arts — every aspect. That legacy will stand forever, and all of us are grateful and appreciative of his support and promotion. Thank you, Mr. President …”

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Jim Farmer is the recipient of the 2022 National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award for Best Theatre Feature and a nominee for Online Journalist of the Year. A member of five national critics’ organizations, he covers theater and film for ArtsATL. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he has written about the arts for 30-plus years. Jim is the festival director of Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ film festival, and lives in Avondale Estates with his husband, Craig, and dog, Douglas.