Art club opens show in Altavista
By Casey Gillis on Mar. 13, 2008
/ 385-5525
Lois Coward says the Seven Hills Art Club brings area artists together through monthly meetings, critiques and guest speakers.
“It’s a way to keep us all involved in art and learning about art,” says Coward, club secretary and publicity chairwoman. “So I think that’s the purpose: to keep us all together and talking about art.”
The club, which has 27 members, was first founded in 1981. Sponsored by the Lynchburg Parks & Recreation Department, it doesn’t have its own gallery, and members depend on outside galleries, as well as local banks and libraries, to show their work.
The club generally holds two big shows each year, one in the spring and one in the fall.
This year, their fall show was held at the Bedford Public Library, as always. But they’ve got something new in store for the spring: a show at the Altavista Area YMCA.
“It’s so pretty down there. It’s kind of like the hub of Altavista,” Coward says of the facility.
“It’s a beautiful YMCA, gorgeous and fairly new. Then they have set up this gallery space.”
The work - 92 paintings and photographs from 12 club members - will be displayed in three areas: the hallway as you enter the building, a lounge area with seating and a conference room.
A reception is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, and the show runs through April 25.
YMCA Executive Director Steve Jester approached the club and its members about doing the show.
“We have a pretty big art space here, and we’re always using area artists, so I thought it might be good to bring the whole club down,” he says. “It’s good for us because we have a lot of traffic in the ‘Y,’ and our members really enjoy … being able to see local artists.”
Jester says they try to keep the space filled with art at all times, with shows usually running for six weeks at a time.
The shows are part of the Altavista Arts Council, which was formed in 2000 by an endowment established by Altavista resident B.B. Lane. The council’s purpose is to promote and develop artistic and cultural programs for the people of Altavista.
In addition to the art shows, other programs include Poetry Plus, a casual venue for poetry reading, singing and in-character storytelling that’s held every three months; Vista Flix, an outdoor summer movie series; monthly arts education programs in the schools; and the Altavista Little Theater.
“It’s easy at the ‘Y’ to always be referred to (in conjunction with) sports, aquatics and childcare,” Jester says. “In a small town, to be able to add this magnitude of arts and arts education is just fun.”
IF YOU’RE GOING:
WHAT: Seven Hills Art Club reception
WHEN: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: The Altavista Area YMCA, 718 7th St.
INFO: (434) 369-9622
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