Paint
Dover! kicks off the arts on October 8 as
artists from around the region are invited paint, and arts-lovers can watch artists take to the streets, parks, sidewalks and cafes to paint outside – rain or shine! Paintings created during this three-day activity will then be exhibited at The Biggs Museum of American Art, followed by the art being displayed in downtown shops throughout October, and then virtually.
Painting location parameters have been expanded this year to include anything within the City of Dover. This includes not only the business district and The Green, but also historic residences throughout the City, and places of note including Spence’s Bazaar, nearby parks and stream, and the campuses of Bayhealth and DSU. This allows returning artists fresh scenes to capture – often very quickly - in a variety of media, including oil, pastel, ink and watercolor.
“To celebrate this sixth-year event, we’ve expanded in a few exciting ways,” said Diane Laird, Executive Director of the Downtown Dover Partnership (DDP). “The Biggs Museum will not only host the opening exhibition, but artists have been invited to exhibit their paintings inside the nationally accredited museum throughout First Saturday weekend. All activities, including the entire weekend indoors at the museum on Saturday and Sunday are free and open to the public.”
On Thursday, October 10 from 4:30-7 p.m., the public
is invited to meet the artists at the Biggs Museum of American Art for a
"wet paint" exhibition of their pieces, available for purchase and
still wet from having just been painted. The event will feature refreshments,
and live music from returning electric violinist Bronwyn Beth who
grew up playing folk and bluegrass
but is skilled in a broad range of music styles from Aerosmith-style rock, to
pop, and classical. https://www.bronwynbethviolin.com/
This year artists will compete for $2,000 in awards. Along with traditional awards, there will be Special Place Awards including “Iconic Loockerman,” “Dover Heritage,” and “Stately Homes” as well as “small works” awards for paintings framed not larger than 12” x 16”. A “DSU Hornet Spirit” award will be selected by Terrell Holmes, Ed.D., the new Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives for DSU Downtown. Biggs Museum Curator, Laura Fravel, will select “Curator’s Choice” and other awards.
On
Saturday, First Saturday, October 12, artists
and arts lovers can view a painting demonstration by award-winning artist
Maggii Sarfaty. Maggii enjoys teaching oil and watercolor at The Academy Art
Museum in
Easton, MD, the Ocean City Center for the Arts and The
Dorchester Center for the Arts. Community members also can enjoy OktDoverFest on Saturday,
the annual downtown block party on Loockerman Street hosted by Destination
Downtown Dover from 2 - 9 p.m. https://destinationdowntowndover.com/
Community members are encouraged to vote for their favorite painting wherever the paintings are on exhibit, including virtually, after which one final “People’s Choice” award will then be announced in November.
Paint Dover! is part of DDP’s commitment to providing high quality arts programming in downtown Dover, and will feature an estimated 75 images of downtown through the eyes of 30 talented artists. Previous years’ Paint Dover!images are displayed on banner poles on Loockerman Street and is a way to feature the art that so nicely celebrates downtown.
This event will take place rain or shine, with the opening exhibition on October 10th to be held inside The Biggs Museum in case of bad weather. For the full schedule, to register, and to view the 2023 Paint Dover! virtual exhibition, visit Https://Tinyurl.com/DoverArt, call 302-678-2940 or contact Diane@DowntownDoverPartnership.com.
This event highlights the creative
arts and placemaking priority within the Capital City 2030: Transforming Downtown Dover! plan. For more information about the plan, visit: https://tinyurl.com/CapitalCity2030.
Paint
Dover! is produced by Main Street Dover (a subsidiary of the Downtown Dover Partnership) with generous sponsors and partners including Affordable Business Systems, Bayhealth, The Biggs Museum of American Art, Blick Art Materials, City of Dover Mayors Office, Delaware Division of the Arts, Del-One Federal Credit Union, Dover Art League, Jerry’s Artarama of Delaware (Newark), National Endowment for the Arts, and PNC Bank.
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The Downtown Dover Partnership is committed to driving an improved quality of life for the residents and visitors of Dover, Delaware, through collective collaboration, economic development and promotion of downtown Dover’s unique historic landscape. Call 302-678-2940 or visit: https://www.DowntownDoverPartnership.com.
Three images follow.
Artist Maggii Sarfaty of Easton, MD will provide a painting demonstration at The Biggs on Saturday, October 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
