It’s the first year celebrating Anne Arundel Arts Month and it is exciting. Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County have supported this 100%, and with ANDCreative, they have organized a month to remember.
You’ve probably heard a lot of buzz already, and it is finally here so get ready to fill your calendar. The first week is Annapolis Arts Week and you won’t be able to look sideways without finding something art-related you must see.
Starting today with the First Sunday Arts Festival and the kickoff to Paint Annapolis, every art venue has something going on, and while Gallery Day is Tuesday, the galleries are hopping every day and all month long. If you are looking for new art, something to add to your collection and you want a story to go with it, this month was designed for you. It’s the best month of the year.
MFA Circle Gallery presents “Paint Annapolis,” starting today with events daily through June 9. For 23 years, “Paint Annapolis” has been the premier plein air painting event in this historic town. Artists will be painting on the streets today through Friday, and exhibiting at 18 State Circle starting 2 p.m. today through June 22, and at the MFA Pop Up Gallery at 14 Church Circle starting 2 p.m. today through June 19.
- “Dueling Brushes” painting starts at 9 a.m. today, and will go on display and for sale at City Dock from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with awards announced at 1 p.m.
- “Paint the Bay” will feature art of the Chesapeake at a reception sponsored by PNC at the Bay Ridge Club House & Marina on from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
- “Art on the Avenue” exhibition will feature works of Historic Annapolis on Maryland Avenue from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday.
- Join MFA for the ticketed “Collector’s Reception” from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday to see the Juried Artists’ awards announced.
- The free opening reception for the “Paint Annapolis Exhibition,” with an awards announcement for public and students artists is from 5 to 7 p.m. on June 8.
- “Muffins and Mimosas” will be available at both galleries from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. n June 9.
- The closing reception for the public and student artist exhibition at 14 Church Circle is from 5 to 7 p.m. on June 19.
- The final event is Muffins and Mimosas closing exhibition of juried artists’ work at the Circle Gallery from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 22.
Celebrate arts month at the Annapolis Marine Art Gallery. Watch previous “Paint Annapolis” winner Collin Cessna live paint at AMAG for Annapolis Gallery Day at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Meet the artist and see his newest works on display.
Jo Fleming Contemporary Art continues “Contemporary Still Life” with four regional artists: John Petr, Jodi Ferrier, Edmond Praybe and Cindy Winnick.
- Petr lives in southern Maryland and presents large paintings of close investigations of implements used by fisherman and oysterman.
- Ferrier, a D.C.-area artist is inspired by the simple shapes created between still objects on a table. She strives to capture the emotional resonance she experiences when observing the moment.
- Praybe is an acclaimed local artist and painting instructor. His work includes careful arrangements of everyday objects in intimate collections.
- Winnick, is a versatile Annapolis artist who explores an array of media. Her still life paintings are modest in scale, intimate and earthy in coloration.
Open now through June 30, join them for their Annapolis Arts Week Gallery Day event: Winnick will offer live painting in the gallery from to 2 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Maryland Hall hosts the “Community24” art exhibition showcasing a curated collection of work across Annapolis and Anne Arundel County in honor of Anne Arundel Arts Month.
Join an opening reception in the Martino Gallery from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. In the Earl Gallery, the artists of the Open Eye Gallery at Arundel Lodge present “Connection,” offering an opportunity to view the artwork of adults living with mental health and substance use disorders.
The exhibit opens a dialogue about what it means to be an artist, the stigma surrounding mental health disorders and the value of art and creativity in mental wellness. The opening reception is also from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Gallery 57 West will feature virtual art talks by two Annapolis Arts Alliance members, Julie Heath and Kay Fuller, at 5:30 p.m. on June 11, which will appear on Gallery 57 West’s Facebook page.
Heath is going to describe her process of using magazines, newspapers and specialty papers to create and build her mixed media/collages. Fuller enjoys documenting her travels by journaling. She will explain how she creates her journals and uses these as inspiration for larger works of art.
McBride Gallery announces a special exhibit to commemorate its 44th anniversary, “44 Years of Artistry: A Celebration of Creativity.” The show is a testament to the gallery’s enduring commitment to showcasing high-quality artwork and its mission to support emerging and established artists. It is also a tribute to Annapolis and loyal patrons.
The show will include selected works by their historic (and deceased) artists, as well as artists who recently joined the gallery. Artists include John Ebersberger, Michael Godfrey, Bill Schmidt, Sandy Scott, Paula Waterman, Trish Wend and more. The show opens June 13 and runs through Aug. 3. There will be an open house on opening day, from 2 to 8 p.m. on June 13.
West Annapolis Artworks presents Charles Lawrance, an Annapolis artist whose paintings and prints celebrate nature for its beauty and wonder. His artwork fuses depictions of animals and fish, and their habitats, with a flamboyant imagination culminating in a surrealistic style that bends the mind and offers a new reality.
Long inspired by his love of fishing, fish are signature icons in Lawrance’s work. He is also a well-known mural artist in the area and is a fixture in the Annapolis art scene. Be sure to stop by the gallery this summer to view his imaginative and finely rendered alternate universes.
MFA at Paul’s continues the exhibition of work by MFA members Alexandra Treadaway-Hoare and Jessica Joern, running to the end of July. Treadaway-Hoare has a healthy respect for the effects of the passage of time on man-made and natural structures. She portrays the effects and the fleeting nature of time through her watercolors. Joern creates paintings of flowers, pottery and animals on canvas mounted on board. Her subjects are simple, and the results are straight forward, requiring no explanation.
The Banneker-Douglass Museum will shine a spotlight on the talented young artists of the Museum on the Move youth program. Led by teaching artist Nikki Brooks, the youth will present multidisciplinary works expressing the theme of “Maryland’s Year of Civil Rights,” from painting to photo transfer art.
This exhibition will be open through August. Also continuing this month is “Revisit/Reimagine: The Civil Rights Era in Maryland and Parallels of Today.” Curated by Thomas James, this exhibition remembers the legacies of civil rights leaders and their effect on Black Marylanders and the United States.
In collaboration with Afro Charities, images of nationally and locally recognized civil rights leaders from the AFRO American Newspapers archives will be on display accompanied by the work of 13 contemporary artists living and working in the Maryland area.
Hanging in both Galleries at the Visitor Center at Quiet Waters Park:
- “Marie Linnekin Retrospective” through June 24. The exhibit features a diverse collection of paintings, drawings and prints. For more than 50 years, Linnekin was a member of the Maryland art community serving with organizations like MFA and Maryland Hall, teaching at AACC and hosting an artist critique at her home for years. Her work was shown widely across Maryland and northern Virginia. Many of her students became accomplished artists.
- From June 26 through Aug. 11, the Galleries at the Visitor Center will feature the work of the “Chesapeake Collage Guild,” an informal group of art friends who, for years, have shared their diverse creative ideas, media expertise and artist visions. For this joint pursuit, each guild member, professional or serious amateur, brings their personality to this broad, dynamic medium. Because collage defines itselt, the exhibit showcases a variety of innovative and classic techniques, grand scale to contemporary charm. The opening reception is from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on June 30.
The Elizabeth Myers Mitchell Art Museum (/m) presents two exhibitions related to books and the illumination of life. In the main gallery, “Some Light Reading (A Summer Exhibition),” on view through July 7, intersperses poems and texts by Emily Dickinson, Audre Lorde, Eileen Myles and Virginia Woolf with artwork by Vija Celmins, Rockne Krebs, Virgil Marti, Eileen Neff, and Bahar Yurukoglu.
In the Nutt Room at the Greenfield Library, “Two Art Books: Louise Bourgeois and Fischli/Weiss,” is on view until early September. The exhibition pits two efforts to make sense of the human experience against each other.
Patrice Drago is a painter and writer in Annapolis. Website: www.patricedrago.com. This column is written in cooperation with the Annapolis Gallery Association. Contact Patrice at art@patricedrago.com.