This Thursday, June 20, Master Strokes: The 2024 Hale Juried Exhibition will open with a festive reception from 5 to 7 pm at the Artists Association of Nantucket Big Gallery, upstairs at 12 Straight Wharf.
“The theme for this year’s show is Preserving the Future. Artist members will explore themes of beaches and bluffs, wharves and harbors, marshes and moors, and the environment at risk of future climate warming and rising seas,” explained AAN Artistic Director Robert Frazier. “Our accomplished juror, Christie Scheele, will review members submissions and decide which art will be displayed.”
“I would like to thank Kaaren and Charles Hale for generously funding this five-year commitment to support the Hale Juried Exhibition and Hale Award for Excellence,” said Tracey Sears, AAN’s executive director. These awards will be offered to AAN’s artist membership with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place prizes, and the Hale Award for Excellence. “We are most grateful for this opportunity the Hales have provided,” she added.
“Christie Scheele is from the Woodstock, NY area, and has taught at the Woodstock School of Art as well as at AAN over the years. She has an upcoming June solo show at the Louise Gould Gallery on Martha’s Vineyard,” added Frazier, “It will be wonderful to see her process and have her share her input and thoughts as she chooses pieces.” At the opening on Thursday, June 20, Christie will offer a special presentation about her selection process for this exhibition and discuss her own art techniques and styles.
In addition to the Artists Association of Nantucket, the Hales have given to many island organizations, including the Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket Preservation Trust, Nantucket Atheneum, and Nantucket Cottage Hospital. AAN’s Hale Master of Fine Arts Residency program was established in the winter of 2019, through generous funding from Charles and Kaaren Hale.
Concurrently with Master Strokes, AAN is featuring the Summer Small Works exhibition in the award-winning Cecelia Joyce & Seward Johnson Gallery at 19 Washington Street from June 21 to July 15.
The Master Strokes: The 2024 Hale Juried Exhibition will be on display through Monday, July 8 at Big Gallery, upstairs at 12 Straight Wharf, the former home of AAN’s Kenneth Taylor Galleries from 1945 to 1988. The Big Gallery is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm.
