Today is the First Day of Summer and we’d love it if you would join us THIS Saturday evening, June 24th, at 7 PM when we will unveil our latest exhibition of art, showcasing the works of five very talented local artists: Darlene Fenster, Carol Finlayson, Barbara Pardon, Heidi Reiter and Henry Rhommerdahl.
Our art socials are legendary for the friendships and refreshments we offer and these neighborhood gatherings provide an opportunity for visitors to meet the artists and talk about art. We are especially excited because one of our artists is über talented and has promised to perform just for us!!! You don’t want to miss this!
If you are unable to join us this week, we hope you will visit any Saturday through July 15th to see this lovely art exhibition. We would love to see you again or meet you for the first time!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Last weekend’s 18th Annual Gay Pride Festival in Wilton Manors was a huge success! Well over 10,000 people came out to see the parade and share in the celebration of #peace, #love and #equalrightsforall! Thank you to our fans and followers for understanding why we couldn’t hold our art opening as originally scheduled.
Art: “Tree Tops Hammock” watercolor painting by Heidi Reiter
Gallery Summer Hours: Saturdays, 7 to 9 PM
UPDATE: Wilton Drive will be closed as will all City buildings for the annual Gay Pride Festival. We are postponing the gallery opening to Saturday, June 24 at 7 PM. We apologize for the inconvenience.
It sounds trite, but, where did the time go? It seems as though it is slipping away, into the future. All the more reason to welcome summertime. The snow birds are gone, school is out and the pace is laid back and easy. Let’s enjoy it, shall we?
This Saturday evening at 7 PM we will open our newest exhibition of art, showcasing the works of Darlene Fenster, Carol Finlayson, Barbara Pardon, Heidi Reiter and Henry Rhommerdahl. As is our practice, there will be an art social, an opportunity for visitors to meet the artists, to talk about art, and, to make new friends or meet up with old ones. There is art worthy of our attention and, once again, there are surprises in this show. But, you have to come see for yourself!
Please join us on Saturday, June 17th, or, visit any Saturday through July 15th. We would love to see you again or meet you for the first time!
Art: “Beauty of Spring” by Henry Rhommerdahl Gallery Summer Hours: Saturdays, 7 to 9 PM
It is with great pleasure that we write those words!“The Smithsonian is here!”
If you remember from our earlier blog entries, we’ve been “under construction” as the City installed a new ceiling in the former Woman’s Club of Wilton Manors, our home. As is the rule in this life, it took longer than everyone thought it would, so, we were biting our nails and praying it would be done before the opening of our photo exhibit, “WILTON MANORS WORKS” and the Story Slam on March 18th. While it wasn’t completely finished, it was close enough that we were able to host a lovely evening at Art Gallery 21 with the unveiling of 26 charming photographs of people working in Wilton Manors, and our neighboring cities, Oakland Park and Fort Lauderdale.
A storyteller and her attentive audience.
And, the Story Slam … what an incredibly interesting experience for all of us! What courage it takes to stand in front of a group of people and talk about yourself. Yet, the idea of “working for a living” is something each of us can relate to, and, it was in that shared experience that we found common ground. The entire Story Slam was recorded by The Humanity Project, one of our grant partners, and as soon as we have access to the podcast (coming soon!), we will post it here and share it on our Facebook page.
On Wednesday, March 22nd an 18-wheel tractor trailer pulled up at Art Gallery 21 and unloaded 12 very large crates marked “SMITHSONIAN.” Imagine our excitement that it was finally here! We inventoried everything and used “the sticks” to determine where the exhibit would be placed. “The sticks” are, in fact, officially known as Exhibit Patterns. They’re similar to one of those folding rulers, but these sticks we could lay on the floor to determine the footprint of the physical exhibit which helped us to figure out the placement of each of the five sections. It may not sound very exciting, but, what a very clever tool! Indeed!
Art Gallery 21 officially opened the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit to the public at noon on Friday, March 24th and the response from visitors has been delightfully enthusiastic! We saw a busy weekend for our docents and we are all looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones as we explore “The Way We Worked” together throughout the month of April! The exhibit is free to the public thanks to a grant from the Florida Humanities Council and the Smithsonian Institution. And, thanks to all our partners, especially the City of Wilton Manors! This is the kind of thing that makes life better here!
EXHIBIT HOURS: Friday & Saturday 12 Noon to 8 PM | Sunday 12 Noon to 4 PM
It’s the month of loveand we’re loving the art in our newest exhibit which opens Saturday, February 4th at 7 PM when you can meet the artists … Robert Gross, Celia Diaz, Dirk Eberle, Errol Gross, Natalee Jones and Louise Meredith! They will all be on hand to meet you and talk about their work or anything else you’d like to discuss. Our artists are among the most sociable folks you’ll ever meet!
This exhibit is a showcase of some of the finest local artists there are here in Broward County and their work will be on display through March 4, 2017.
Art Gallery 21 is located in the former Woman’s Club of Wilton Manors, 600 NE 21 Court, in the heart of the Arts & Entertainment District. Gallery open Saturdays through February.
Last fall we announced that Art Gallery 21 had been selected by the Florida Humanities Council to serve as a host site for the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit, “The Way We Worked,” through the Museum on Main Street program. We were so excited at the prospects and have since been working with our partners to coordinate and plan and reach out to the community to welcome this amazing opportunity to connect with each other about something as important as what we do for a living.
Tomorrow and Friday, Todd deJesus (Wilton Manors’ Capital Projects & Grants Manager) and I will drive to Dade City, Florida to participate in the Exhibit Installation Workshop for “The Way We Worked” at its first site, the Pioneer Florida Museum. The exhibit panels come in containers that are hauled on a tractor trailer from location to location. The photo shows a bit of what it looks like. As the second host site, we will see the arrival of the exhibit on or near March 21st.
There is an unintended consequence to traveling to a workshop to learn a task such as this, and that’s what I’d like to share here, if you don’t mind … that ‘unintended consequence’ is the camaraderie that exists when a project is shared by a group of people. It’s that thing that Margaret Mead references in her work and is often quoted, about the power of a small group of people. Anyway, we will have the opportunity to work elbow to elbow with other small nonprofit business managers who are trying to make their little part of the world a better place by bringing a Smithsonian exhibit to each of their communities, including Lake Wales, Tarpon Springs and Bartow. THAT is the best part of all this … making the connections to others who share the philosophy that art and culture really do matter and we’re willing to work to make it happen. Somehow, you make new friends, learn new things and make discoveries of delight that make the “work” memorable. And, the best is yet to come!
Stay tuned!
“The Way We Worked” is a traveling exhibition brought to you by the Smithsonian Institution and the Florida Humanities Council, based on photographs from the National Archives. The exhibit will be at Art Gallery 21 from March 24 to May 6, 2017, and will be available for viewing Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12 Noon to 8 PM. It is free to the public.
Tomorrow night, the event formerly known as the art walk will return to the Wilton Manors Art & Entertainment District. Now called Wilton Manors Art & Entertainment Expo, it will be held the third Saturday of the month, January through March this year.
Art Gallery 21 is pleased to be a part of the WMAE art walk and we hope to see you tomorrow night, January 21, 2017! If you haven’t seen the current exhibit, now’s your chance! Maybe you have friends or family visiting or are just looking for a fun evening out … if so, this is a really good alternative to the movies or bowling! Browse the local businesses showcasing individual artists as well as our galleries, then have a drink and a bite to eat. Our weather is fine this time of year, perfect for an art walk!
Artists interested in participating in the February art walk can find details and artist registration information at http://www.wmae.org/
Wilton Manors Art & Entertainment Expo is presented by WMEG and the City of Wilton Manors.
