LUNENBURG —The library’s April art exhibit will showcase the creativity of area inhabitants — a variety of pieces hand selected by a seasoned artist who is excited to share the curated collection.
The opening reception for “Shared Walls, Shared Worlds” is on Saturday, April 4 from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Wallace Community Room at the Lunenburg Public Library, where light refreshments will be served. The art on display through the month of April is pulled from mixed media art workshops with materials funded by grants that town resident Bridie Wolejko held at the library in March, favorites of hers to share with the broader community.
“From my experience as a community-based art instructor and gallery manager, I have seen first-hand the need for free or very affordable art programming in the area,” Wolejko said. “As a way to tie the workshops together and create an additional opportunity for participants, an exhibit of artwork made during workshops was added to the programming.”
When asked why this exhibit is special and as an artist why it’s important to her to foster creativity in people, Wolejko had this to say.
“Helping to run Gallery Marquee in Fitchburg, I’ve seen how transformative it can be for a first-time exhibiting artist to have their artwork on display in a professional manner and setting,” she conveyed. “I wanted to give that same experience to those signing up for this workshop series. While many who attended are beginner artists who have never exhibited their work before, I also had some more experienced and even professional full-time artists participate and their work will also be on display. As the mixed-media workshops instructor and curator of the exhibit, I can wholeheartedly say that having this diversity in the program was a wonderful way for us to all learn from each other.”
She went to say that “Shared Walls, Shared Worlds” is a collaborative, community-based art exhibit made possible through a grant from the Lunenburg Cultural Council, a local agency supported by Mass Cultural Council, a state agency; the partnership of the Lunenburg Public Library; “and the community’s interest in creating art as a means of personal expression.”
This exhibit comes of the heels of Wolejko’s solo exhibit that was displayed at her hometown library during the month of March, “Harmony and Discord: Nature’s Beauty, Humanity’s Impact” – in her own words, “the intersection of our planet’s verdant splendor and humankind’s intension of destroying it in the name of progress.”
The focus of that exhibit was environmental. She incorporated collage images of plastic packaging into nature as a way to high pollution and painted scenes were “choked with glitter to spark conversation about micro-plastics in organic matter and our own bodies.”
Wolejko shared an image of one of the artworks included in the April exhibit — “Blue is the Color of Love” by Becky Campaner, an 18 x 24″ collage featuring acrylic paint, burlap, embroidery thread, and artificial flowers — along with a photo of workshop participant Nieves Monge working on her mixed media piece “The Aging Process.”
Family and friends of the artists featured in “Shared Walls, Shared Worlds” along with members of the community are welcome to attend the opening reception and check out the exhibit during library hours, a chance to celebrate their accomplishments in a casual and supportive setting.
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