Artists on Nantucket, professional and those who have just learned to paint, will participate in the Artists Association of Nantucket’s 12th annual Plein Air Nantucket. This festival starts on Tuesday, June 13 and continues through Sunday, June 18, with special gatherings and an awards ceremony. It offers many opportunities for the public to see art in process and to enjoy several beautiful areas of Nantucket. There is no fee to attend or to participate.
Plein Air Nantucket is open to all artists who wish to paint in the fresh air and pristine scenery of the island and enjoy the camaraderie of painting with peers. On June 14 from 10 am to 2 pm, the Annual Paint Out will be held in two picturesque locations: the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum at 158 Polpis Road and the UMass Field Station at 180 Polpis Road. Carpooling is encouraged as parking is very limited. The Shipwreck Shuttle departs from Visitor Services at 25 Federal Street on the half hour from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm to transport the public to the Shipwreck Museum. The shuttle offers hourly returns until 5 pm.
New for 2023, Quick Paint timed painting sessions will be held from 10 am to 12:30 pm on June 15 at Children’s Beach and at the Nantucket Land Bank’s Creeks Preserve at 2 Milestone Road.
Throughout the week-long Plein Air, AAN’s Big Gallery, upstairs at 12 Straight Wharf is the festival headquarters. Here freshly created artwork will be displayed daily on the “Wet Walls’ for public viewing and purchase.
A huge proponent of en plein air painting, Frank Swift Chase taught outdoor classes starting in 1920 through the early 1950s, and the core of his regular students became the founders of AAN. In this spirit, AAN hosts Plein Air Nantucket annually and presents the Frank Swift Chase awards: juried prizes presented to artists who participate in the festival. The last evening of the festival, Sunday, June 18, the awards ceremony will be held in the Big Gallery from 5 pm.
Continuing through June 19 is the exhibit Blue Skies in the AAN Cecelia Joyce & Seward Johnson Gallery at 19 Washington Street. To June 16, the Think Big exhibit will be on display in AAN’s Big Gallery, alongside the Plein Air Wet Walls.
