Founders of nonprofit Discover Purcellville Michael and Kim Oaks have been residents of Purcellville for 11 years and had always hoped to one day raise enough funding to purchase a gallery for local artists to showcase their work. With help from artist Anne Stine and web designer and developer Dave Levinson, that dream has since become a reality in a 100-year-old building that was originally a Texaco gas station.
“The owners of the space are fifth-generation Loudoun County residents,” says Oaks of the process of finding the right property. “Once they found out what we were going to do here for local artists, they chose us.”
The Purcellville Art Gallery opened on July 31, showcasing hundreds of pieces of art, including paintings of all genres, sculpture, pottery and more, all produced solely by Western Loudoun County residents. The new site is also home to a gift shop featuring items like handmade jewelry, painted prints and postcards
Curating the artwork within the gallery is a unique process, as the pieces are not chosen by Oaks and his team, but rather by a blind jury of art enthusiasts from outside of Loudoun County every two months. Through the organization’s “call to art,” local talent can submit their pieces online for the jury to then select 150 to 200 of the best pieces to showcase.
For Oaks, it’s important to make Loudoun County residents part of the art community that surrounds them.
“We have one room that artists can rent out and do classes,” says Oaks. “We also have a .5-acre where we are going to host an arts festival on Oct. 12, along with our official grand opening.”
The arts festival will be a day of celebration, consisting of the gallery’s grand opening, the very first artisans market beginning at noon, and the start of a new exhibit in the gallery debuting that day, as well. In the evening, there will be an official ribbon cutting ceremony with Town of Purcellville elected officials, followed by a reception to celebrate the second cycle of artwork, which will be on display from Oct. 3 through Jan. 5, 2020.
To learn more about the gallery’s upcoming events, submit artwork or become a volunteer, click here.
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