Albany Area Arts Council to open new exhibit by Albany artist guild members | PHOTO GALLERY

ALBANY — Albany area art lovers will get a chance to see the works of some of the surrounding area’s best and brightest artists when the Albany Area Arts Council opens its new monthly exhibit this week.

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The new exhibit, titled “Sizzling Summer Show: Art Like You’ve Never Seen It Before,” serves as the Arts Council’s August showcase and will feature works from 17 Georgia Artist Guild of Albany members who specialize in a variety of different media including watercolor, photography, sculpture, hand-wrought jewelry and more.

According to artist and Georgia Artist Guild of Albany President Meg Tilley Anderson, “Sizzling Summer Show: Art Like You’ve Never Seen It Before” will be a fun show that will allow guild members to display their work and give the public an opportunity to purchase work from local artists.

“There is a lot of support locally for the arts community, but I suspect that a lot of people are buying their paintings somewhere else,” Anderson said. “Of course, that may be because they don’t know where to find (local work). We wanted to have an opportunity to sell our artwork so we decided to have a show at the Arts Council.”

Anderson said that the guild also has an annual regional art show each November at the Albany Museum of Art. Members show works that have been created within the previous three years, which are judged by a panel. Since the museum is a non-profit entity, the guild can’t sell any of its members’ work at the show, which makes the August Arts Council show a good opportunity for guild members to show past work.

“At this show, we’ll have some of our favorite oldies, so to speak,” Anderson said. “It’s a great opportunity to show all of that stuff. We really appreciate the Albany Arts Council for giving us this opportunity to have the show.”

For its part, the Arts Council is committed to supporting all of the arts in the Albany area and support of the Georgia Artist Guild of Albany is important to the organization.

Having the show works well because it fulfills the Arts Council’s need to display new things and it allows one of Albany’s oldest arts organizations, which was started in the 1970s, a chance to gain additional exposure, creating an important partnership for Albany’s arts community.

“I’m really looking forward to the artist guild’s exhibition,” Arts Council Executive Director Nicole Williams said. “The AAAC works with the artist guild all the time, but it has been a long time since they’ve had a show here at the Arts Council Gallery.”

Williams went on to say that she also wants to see the guild have another way to display member works, which helps guild members find a market for their creations.

“The Artist Guild holds their annual shows at the Albany Museum of Art, which has been a great working relationship for both organizations,” said Williams. “This exhibition is something a little different. The goal we have in mind here is to give the artist guild members of venue for showing and selling work that they made years ago and have not previously exhibited for some reason.”

Another benefit of the August exhibition is that it will also give the public an opportunity to learn more about the Artist Guild.

According to Anderson, the guild is an association of highly skilled artists that not only supports the arts in the Albany area but also tries to connect, educate and empower the local talent pool of local artists.

Anderson said that the currently the guild has roughly two dozen active members, but is always looking to welcome more. The group meets the first Thursday of every month at 7 p.m at the Carnegie Library and those meetings are open to anyone who is interested.

Information about the guild is also available at the group’s website www.thegaga.org and on the Georgia Artist Guild of Albany Facebook page.

Several guild members will also be present at the opening of the Arts Council August show, and Anderson encourages anyone who is interested in coming out.

“We’ve been working to build the guild and keep it going,” said Anderson. “We’ve got a lot of new people coming in. I think most of us will be (at the opening) and I’d like see people coming out to meet us and get involved. It’s definitely going to be worth their while to come out.”

“Sizzling Summer Show: Art Like You’ve Never Seen It Before” will open with a small reception Thursday night at 6 p.m., which the public is invited to attend free of charge. The reception, along with the exhibition, will be held at the Albany Arts Council’s Carengie Library home in downtown Albany.

The Carnegie Library is located at 215 N. Jackson Street and is open to the public at no charge every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

To learn more about the Albany Arts Council and its other projects visit albanyartscouncil.org.