about the arts center

Exhibits in The Arts Center In Orange Morin Gallery are offered free to the public thanks to the support of the Virginia Commission for the Arts and community sponsors.

Power Suits: An Art Quilt Challenge Exhibit

Opening reception:  June 7 from 5-7pm

Exhibit dates:  June 7 – July 20, 2012

Two years ago a local tailor offered Virginia quilter Cyndi Souder his outdated fabric swatches and a phenomenal quilt challenge was born.

Cyndi Souder of Moonlighting Quilts in Northern Virginia is an art quilter, a quilt teacher, and a lover of all things fabric. When she first saw the boxes and boxes of shirting and suiting swatches, she knew she had to think bigger than her own studio. She realized she wanted to invite other quilters to play. Because of her proximity to Washington, DC, the theme of “Power Suits” seemed obvious.  Cyndi teamed up with Judy Gula of Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, packaged the swatches and offered these inspiring packets free to interested quilters.  Participants were invited to interpret the theme “Power Suits.”

The exhibit includes 104 eighteen inch square quilts, addressing such diverse topics as politics, family, work, life, playing cards, and super heroes.  Interesting how those bundles of fabric and those two words — Power and Suit — inspired so many artists across the US and Canada. 

Sponsored by The Law Offices of Sean D. Gregg and the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the exhibit is free and the public is welcome. To see all 104 quilts, visit the Morin Gallery and satellite exhibits at Virginia National Bank (102 East Main Street, Orange, Virginia, hours: M-Th 8:30-5, Fri 8:30-6, Sat 9-noon) and The Law Offices of Sean D. Gregg (111 East Main Street, Orange, Virginia, hours: Monday-Friday, 9-5). 

Quilt images:

“Power Suited Him” by Cyndi Souder

“Suffragettes Picketing in Washington, DC” by Judy Gula

“All Systems are Go” by Cheryl Sleboda

 “Royal Flush” by Kris Bishop

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The 15th Annual YOUNG VISIONS:  The Art of Orange County’s School Children

Exhibit Dates:  May 3 – 31, 2012

Opening Reception:  May 3 from 5-7pm

A vibrant celebration of imagination, color and creativity, including hundreds of works by students from Orange County elementary, middle and high schools as well as Head Start and Early Head Start.  Sponsored by Virginia Community Bank. 

O PHOTO

Exhibit Dates:  March 8 – April 28, 2012

Opening Reception: Thursday March 8th from 5-7pm. 

The Orange Photography Collective is a group of photographers who have been meeting for almost four years at The Arts Center In Orange. They meet once a month and look at work from well-known photographers. All members bring in prints of their own to discuss as well. The atmosphere is relaxed and laid back, complete with mellow background music. New members are always welcome. The group is led by Lon Holmberg, who learned at age ten to develop film and has been an avid photographer ever since. Lon was a photojournalist in Vietnam and is currently working on putting together a publication of those images.

Phil and Susie Audibert, local photographers probably best known for their imagery of foxhunting, are other notable members of the Orange Photography Collective. Phil’s contribution to the show is not his usual, however. Included are images from a trip he took to India in 1981.

O Photo promises to be a unique show highlighting many of Orange County’s local artists. The exhibit includes work by: Johnny Altman, Phil Audibert, Susie Audibert, Mike Garton, Alta Harper, Lon Holmberg, Tracy Kropp, Pat LaLand, Rebekah Lingo, and Lou Thompson. The show will consist of a wide range of work, including images of India and Mexico in the 1980s, landscapes and nature, maternity and newborns, rainforests, childhood, and foxhounds. The exhibit, entitled O Photo, will run through April 28, showcasing work of the Photography Collective in the Morin Gallery, located in The Arts Center In Orange.

Satellite galleries located at Reynolds Subaru, The Light Well, and Virginia National Bank will also feature work from other local photographers Bridget Bryant, Bob Davies, Jan Langholz, Jeff Poole, Richard Robinson, John Strader, Bernice Walker and a memorial exhibit of work by Claire Mawdsley with photos and excerpts from a journal she created at 15 while taking a class with Lon Holmberg titled “Creating a Photo Memoir.”

Sponsored by Reynolds Subaru and the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the exhibit is free and the public is welcome.

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Oh, Shenandoah!

Exhibit Dates:  January 12 – February 25

Opening Reception:  Thursday, January 12, 5-7pm

The exhibit brings together winning photographs from concurrent contests around Virginia that were held during the spring and summer of 2011 in celebration of Shenandoah National Park’s 75^th anniversary.

Categories include Views into the Park, Views from the Park and Views within the Park. Awards were bestowed in adult and youth age groups. Oh, Shenandoah! is hosted by Shenandoah National Park Trust, the official “friends” group of Shenandoah National Park.  For more information, visit www.snptrust.org or phone (434) 293-2728.  Sponsored by Grelen Nursery, Inc., Southern States Orange-Madison Cooperative and Virginia National Bank. (photo above, Virga by Chase Schiefer)

Beginning on January 29th and throughout February, Oh Shenandoah! will offer a back drop for a special panel exhibit featuring photos and histories of 20 African American Churches in Orange County produced by the Orange County African American Historical Society in celebration of Black History Month. The History of the African American Churches of Orange County exhibit opens with a reception Sunday, January 29th from 2:30-4pm, including a discussion and performance by the Shady Grove Fifth Sunday Singers. The event is free and the public is invited. (photo above, Blue Run Baptist Church est. 1766)