By Karen Parr-Moody

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Peggy Scoville Bonnington, an outspoken local artist, is the new outreach coordinator for an establishment that was founded in 2001, the Downtown Artists Co-op.

The airy gallery at 96 Franklin Street in downtown Clarksville has long been a platform from which artist members of all stripes have launched shows. But now, Bonnington is looking for new uses of the space, including poetry readings and book readings.

“Until they fire me, I’m going to keep coming up with wild ideas,” Bonnington said.

Bonnington notes that the original mission of DAC was not profit-oriented.

“That was never the mission, to get rich as artists,” she said, laughing. “If it were, we have totally failed. It was about bringing culture to downtown Clarksville. We wanted to be located downtown and have an arts presence there.”

Now, she has decided that the space can be expanded for the use of other artists and other types of arts.

“It’s just a great space,” she said. “When it’s not open, it’s just sitting there.”

To that end, she has organized an evening event called “Salon @ DAC.” Such events held in 2013 included readings by local poet Christopher Burawa and writer Amy Wright.

The first Salon of 2014 will occur at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, March 20 at the gallery. The topic is “Effects of War on Family.” It will feature a reading and book signing by two local authors, Beverly Fisher and Shana Thornton.

Each woman has written a book on two different periods of war. Fisher’s book, “Grace Among the Leavings,” is based during the Civil war while Thornton’s “Multiple Exposure” is about the family dynamics during the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars.

As another aspect of the evening, Jo Taylor McCasland will talk about SAFE (Soldiers and Families Embraced) along with the ramifications of her husband’s PTSD.

Thornton said, “Reading at the DAC will be different from other readings, since we want to focus on the influence of war and military fiction, as well as the effects of war on families and communities. My book, ‘Multiple Exposure,’ is a work of fiction that deals with a reality many people live every day. I’m grateful that Jo Taylor McCasland from SAFE, Soldiers and Families Embraced, will be joining us to discuss her very real experiences with living through her spouse’s repeated deployments.”

A discussion will follow, along with light refreshments. The event is free and open to the public. For questions, call the gallery at 931-552-4747.