OUTDOOR GALLERY DEDICATION

A public celebration and dedication of the Glen Arbor Arts Center’s new Outdoor Gallery are July 30, 5:30 – 8 pm. The GAAC unveiled its new Outdoor Gallery on May 12. The inaugural exhibition features work by Empire painter Mark Mehaffey. Five of Mark’s acrylic paintings were reproduced on 5ft X 5ft aluminum panels and installed on the GAAC’s west and south exterior walls.

Preceding the 7 pm start of the dedication ceremony, Mehaffey will create and complete an original painting of the natural area surrounding the GAAC. He will begin painting at 5:30 pm. The framed painting will be available for purchase during the dedication. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the GAAC’s 2021 Outdoor Gallery project.

The GAAC’s Outdoor Gallery was two years in the planning. A committee explored the idea of placing on the walls sculptures, tiles, murals, and other media while searching for the most flexible and cost-effective answer. The weatherproof, aluminum panels on display were created by Image 360 in Traverse City.

Following a months-long, call-for-entries search, Mehaffey’s series of contemporary landscape paintings were selected by Glen Arbor juror-artists Hank Feeley and Emory Mead. Mehaffey maintains an active studio practice. He retired from the Lansing Public School system where he taught visual art from 1973 to 2002. He teaches painting both locally and throughout the United States. Mehaffey’s work remains in place until April 2021. The panels will then be available for purchase. Support for the Outdoor Gallery comes through a generous grant from GAAC members Barb and George Cochran.

The GAAC is located at 6031 S. Lake St., in Glen Arbor. For more information go to GlenArborArt.org.