Coming soon …

BRUSHESThe Island City Juried Art Competition exhibit closes tonight and we are grateful to all of the artists who participated! 23 individual artists submitted 38 works of art and over the past four weeks more than 200 folks visited Art Gallery 21 and browsed the talent of our local artists!

We have changed the schedule for the remainder of this season. The next exhibit opens with an art social on Friday, March 18 when we unveil The Art of Tyce Marshall with Mark Baker, Patti Maceri, Pamela Maldonado, Carl Phillips and Pat Wahl. Tyce spends winters here in Florida and summers in the mountains of North Carolina, and we are thrilled that he is showing his work in our little gallery! The accompanying artists are local folks with a penchant for beauty and we are equally excited to be showcasing their work!

The final show of the season will be The Winner’s Show which will open with an art social on Friday, April 15th, also known in these parts as “Tax Day!” The winners of the juried show are Dwight Hoffman, Louise Meredith and Joan Glassman with honorable mentions going to Mark Baker and Dirk Eberle and we anticipate they will make for an exciting art show to close out our season!

City of Wilton Manors Logo

The City of Wilton Manors will be doing additional capital improvements to the Woman’s Club in the next few months. Each year since 2012, the City’s Leisure Services Department has managed to secure small amounts of funding for the building including improvements to the kitchen, additional electric supply sources, the installation of track lighting, and our wonderful sign out front! And, let us not forget the planting of native trees on the grounds surrounding the building!  The funding from the 2015-2016 budget year will be used to reconfigure the kitchen so there is more storage space, (something we desperately need!) and to update the kitchen itself with improved cabinets, counter tops and appliances.

The most exciting part of this renovation is the development of a small space that will serve as the “official” Wilton Manors Visitor’s Center! We are currently in the midst of the planning process for the visitor’s center and we anticipate a “grand opening” in early October! Not only will this added amenity provide exposure for the art gallery, but, it will serve as a way for visitors to discover all that Wilton Manors has to offer!

Creating a cultural center in a small urban village like Wilton Manors comes with its challenges, but, thanks to a wonderful community of artists and art lovers, we continue to grow! We have been studying what other small towns around the country are doing to lure visitors away from the big metropolitan areas and we’ve made some interesting discoveries. The top small towns boast heartwarming settings with a gentler pace, much like our little island city. Generally, they are devoted to preserving the local history, encouraging talent and supporting careful economic growth, all things that the City has been doing over the past decade.

Most important, though, are the people. The residents and small business owners of Wilton Manors are unpretentious people with small-town values and high cultural expectations—not a bad recipe for society at large. And, it is their support that has made Art Gallery 21 possible.

As we look to the future, we see cultural opportunities for everyone! Come join the fun! We would love to see you again or meet you for the first time!

 

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