Students don’t have to plan trips to New York City, London or Paris to experience a wealth of meaningful culture and heritage. They have an opportunity to learn about and appreciate the culture that lies right at their fingertips here in the state of Alabama.

The Center for Economic Development, along with the Department of English, the Department of American Studies, New College, Creative Campus, Honors College Assembly and the UA Press, is sponsoring a “University of Alabama Living Legends” lecture where students will experience firsthand Alabama’s own living legends and cultural heritage.

The lecture is today and will last from 3:30 until 5 p.m. It will take place in ten Hoor Room 125 and is free for all to attend.

Daniel Marbury, an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer for the Center for Economic Development and one of the organizers of the project, explained the importance of the lecture.

“[The Center for Economic Development] initiated a conversation about this,” Marbury said. “We’ve been working throughout Alabama and promoting cultural heritage as a tourism opportunity. This lecture is a good way to highlight that wealth of cultural innovation that you can see across the state.”

Two Alabama artists will be highlighted at the lecture, Charlie Lucas, who will be present to speak, and Kathryn Windham, who will be unable to attend due to health issues.

The lecture will be set up as a casual conversation instead of a strict lecture, Marbury said. Since Windham will not be present, Linda Vice, a partner from Southwest Alabama Tourism and longtime friend of Windham, will be there to share stories, along with Lucas, about Windham.

According to a bibliography of the two artists, Lucas is also known as “The Tin Man” and is a self-taught artist who makes art from “a variety of found objects which become incorporated into sculptures and paintings.”

Windham is a nationally acclaimed storyteller who presented at the second national storytelling conference last year. She is regarded as one of the best storytellers in the Southeast and is especially known for her ghost stories. She was a pioneer for female journalism and is also a photographer.

Both Lucas and Windham have written several books which will be available to purchase at the lecture, including Lucas’s book “Tin Man.” The authors will not be available to sign the books at that time, but Lucas will be available to sign books on Friday at 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. at the Kentuck Museum in Northport. Students will also be able to view his work in a gallery at the book signing and participate in a book discussion.

“These are two of Alabama’s greatest artists,” Marbury said. “We are trying to expose students to the work they do. Usually you don’t honor people like this until they pass away, but we want to bring them here while they are alive. They have a lot of wisdom to share.”

“If they haven’t already had a conversation with Charlie they should come,” Marbury said. “He has a way of talking about life and creating art and there is always a lesson that I can connect back to my own life. [Kathryn and Charlie] both have a very important story to share.”

Ryan Davis, a Creative Campus intern, also worked to help coordinate the lecture. He is also the director of Arts Awareness for the Honors College Assembly, so with HCA he pushed to help sponsor Lucas’s visit to the University.

“It’s sad that Kathryn Windham isn’t very healthy right now, but Charlie Lucas is a legend unto himself,” Davis said. “The unique things that he does make his artwork very beautiful. His art is made from dumpster digging and acquiring scrap metal. It’s incredible. He is an iconic artist from Alabama, and he’s nationally known and he’s very humble about it.”

Marbury elaborated on his impression of Lucas as a speaker and a teacher.

“He is full of metaphors, meanings and symbols,” Marbury said. “You feel like he’s full of wisdom when you’re talking to him. He speaks in parables.”

Marbury said this knowledge is exactly what he is hoping students will get out of the lecture – the wisdom from an accomplished and well-known figure of Alabama.

“I also think [this lecture] is very good as far as encouraging people interested in anything creative…” Davis said. “These things are contributing to making the art scene better in Tuscaloosa. Encountering somebody like Charlie Lucas would encourage students to take a part of that.”