LILLIE CLARK

Lillie Clark was born and raised in the Springfield community, and as she says, she was rolling around in all the red clay dirt roads and climbing trees before she could even write her name.

She lived in Springfield until she got married at 19 years old, and then moved to Campbellton, Florida with her family. After high school, Lillie worked at the Marianna Convalescence Center, a non-profit nursing facility, which is what motivated her to attend nursing school in Chipley, Florida and become a licensed nurse practitioner.

Lillie Clark and her family have hosted a family reunion every November for the past 50 years. It started as a way to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday, but as more and more people came to attend, the event was renamed as “Family and Friends Day.” Today, more than 400 people attend the reunion. Her mother starts preparing food and freezing meals in preparation for event as early as October. The day is an opportunity to meet new people and share family stories with one another while celebrating family over music and food.

Today, Lillie Clark continues to live in Campbellton, but owns and operates a small non-profit gallery in Springfield known as LMC (Lillie Mae Clark) Impressions, Incorporated. Below is Ms. Lillie Clark standing in front of her artwork at the Gallery of the Arts for LMC Impressions, Inc.

She opened the gallery in 2011, a year before she retired from her nursing career. In the past, the gallery has hosted after-school activities and summer programs to bring fun, educational experiences to kids. In the future, Ms. Clark hopes to expand these efforts to attract new visitors to the gallery to educate tourists on the local community’s history and heritage. Her dream is for the gallery to be utilized as a community center where people of all ages can have access to education and an outlet for creative expression of various forms, from painting to spoken word.

Lillian is an artist herself who expresses herself in a multitude of different media. From acrylic paints to wood carvings to landscapes painting and portraits drawn in pencil, it is clear that her passion for community comes to life in her art. Various pieces of her artwork are displayed on the walls of the Springfield School house Museum showcasing depictions of black prominent figures, local landmarks, and black cultural life

To hear Ms. Lillie Clark talk about her LMC Impressions Inc. Gallery of the Arts and her community engagement with youth in Springfield., please watch the following video.