![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ArtPlay_6-Gallery-Night-copy.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
ArtPlay, in the River Arts District, will host Gallery Night on Thursday, July 20, from 5:30\u20137:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and will feature ArtPlay\u2019s member artists, one of whom will do a live painting that will be auctioned off at the end of the evening. Twenty percent of proceeds from the auctioned piece as well as from additional art sales during the evening will benefit local youth arts enrichment programming. Light bites and wine will be offered along with a chance to watch demos and talk to artists about their work.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople really do love meeting the artists and getting to know them a bit,\u201d says Kristen Edge, founder and co-owner of ArtPlay, a gallery and community gathering space for creativity. \u201cThey are curious about the behind-the-scenes stuff, or where artists find their inspirations and what their artistic process is like.\u201d In addition, she says, artists enjoy the chance to connect with one another and with guests. \u201cSometimes art events can feel a little formal, but these events are relaxed, welcoming and playful,\u201d Edge says. \u201cThe vibe in the space feels fun and uplifting, which is what I love the most.\u201d<\/p>\n
ArtPlay\u2019s last Gallery Night was held in April and Casi Fordham remembers it feeling \u201clike a party where the main topic was art.\u201d A self-taught watercolor artist, Fordham enjoys the message behind ArtPlay, which is that everyone can be creative. \u201cSo many people are missing a creative outlet,\u201d she says. \u201cI have a five-year-old, and we paint together all the time. When people ask if I\u2019m trying to raise an artist, I always say, \u2018not really; I\u2019m trying to give him just another tool to get through life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Porritt Carrington considers herself \u201ca community artist as much as a studio artist.\u201d Along with Edge, she recently facilitated an exhibition of work by artists ages 16 to 19 years old. \u201cIt was a fantastic show and a wonderful community event,\u201d Porritt Carrington says. \u201cIt\u2019s also, of course, delightful to have my own work represented there. Kristen has done a lovely job of adapting the space into a welcoming gallery and working studio.\u201d On Gallery Night, Porritt Carrington will demonstrate creating an immersive wildflower meadow. \u201cThough I\u2019m usually working on canvas, I\u2019ll show how this can be on paper and adaptable as a design quality to lots of other surfaces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edge worked as a studio teacher with children years ago and during the recent Youth Arts Exhibition for teens became aware of the need to support the development of young artists. \u201cBut, also, we very much believe that creative expression and art-making are foundationally important for healthy development early in life so we would like to be able to support children in arts enrichment through our events,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Artists participating in Gallery Night are Bridget Benton, Carrington, Robin Daugherty, Fordham, Katie Gebely, Michelle Hamilton, Liz Hosier, Amanda McLenon, Beth Mullins, Virginia Shepley and Liberty Hanson Wild.<\/p>\n