The Community Art Exhibit, held in conjunction with Bradford’s Festa Italiana, will feature works by local artists, as well as opportunities for visitors to bring out their inner Picassos.
The event will be held Aug. 7, 8, and 9 at Lisa’s Hairport, and it will feature about 20 local artists, said Lisa Duke, owner of Lisa’s Hairport and member of the Downtown Bradford Business District Authority (DBBDA).
“We’re trying to promote artwork in the community of Bradford,” said Duke, who is organizing the event along with retired art teacher Roger Peters and Main Street manager Anita Dolan. The DBBDA and the Blaisdell Foundation are sponsoring the event.
Featured artists include many who residents may already be familiar with, such as Jessie Vaughn, Denise Drummond and Tom Seagren, according to Duke. Local resident Dr. Kimberly Young will be on hand for a book-signing, too.
Duke said the exhibit would include “various media” including paintings, drawings and photography. She said that while it’s more a way for artists to display their work, there may be a few pieces for sale, too.
The show will not only showcase works by area artists, but it will also offer opportunities for visitors to try their own hands at creating.
Laura Piccioli from Paper to Pages will have a scrapbooking demonstration from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 8.
“We’re also having a wine glass-decorating contest,” Duke said, explaining that residents will be able to stop in Aug. 7-9 and paint a glass, competing for various prizes. The grand-prize winner, who will be chosen at 8 p.m. Aug. 9, will receive “a digital painting of the Italian Festival,” she said.
Vaughn will host a painting demonstration from 1 to 3 p.m. Aug. 9. Duke explained Vaughn will demonstrate her painting, as well as teach others. She will have supplies on hand, too.
Duke noted there may be a minimal cost to take one of the art classes. Participants need not preregister, but she asked they come around half an hour prior.
Duke is involved with other efforts around town to develop the art atmosphere in Bradford.
“Eventually, maybe, we’ll have an art district for Bradford,” she said. She noted she and Dolan had traveled to Oil City to look at an art district there.
Should an art district be developed locally, it could include offering low-cost housing to artists or even enticing a nationally-known artist to move here.
No matter what comes to be in the future, the bottom line for Duke is, “We’d like to see more people involved with artwork and creativity, and it’s therapeutic as well.”
