Gallery View: First Friday for ‘First Friday’ since COVID-19 shutdown
The Banana Factory invited the public back indoors for the “2020 Resident Artist Annual Exhibition” at the Oct. 2 “First Friday.”
It was the first time the South Side Bethlehem arts center held “First Friday” since the coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdown in late March. Participants and guests were required to wear face masks and follow social distancing and other CDC, state and local health protocols.
Thirteen artists who work out of ArtsQuest’s Bethlehem-based arts center or in satellite studios in Allentown have works in the Crayola Gallery exhibition, continuing through Oct. 31.
They include Cody and Wyatt Abrachinsky, Khalil Allaik, Erin Anderson, Doug Boehm, Keith Garubba, Katie Hovencamp, Will Hübscher, Al Johnson, Lauren Kuhn, Anthony Smith, Jr., David Sommers, Bruce Ward and Douglas Wiltraut.
The works include oils, acrylics, photography, etchings, sculpture, mosaics, monoprints, pen and ink, jewelry, ceramics, and mixed media.
Although the Banana Factory has been closed, “We are open for some small classes and some guided tours right now,” says ArtsQuest Senior Director of Visual Arts and Education Lisa Harms.
“Pretty early on we were able to pivot a lot of our programming to a virtual model. That’s been everything from digital exhibitions, virtual classes and virtual artist talks. And we have done some virtual tours of the exhibitions, as well.”
Much of the artwork can be viewed online via a link on the Banana Factory’s website that connects with Behance, Adobe’s digital exhibition platform.
The Stone 45s, featuring Banana Factory artists Cody and Wyatt Abrachinsky, and Levi Atkinson provided garage, blues, and folk rock music on the East Terrace outdoors for the opening reception.
Uncommon Vigilance Cornerstone Advisers sponsors the exhibition.
The Banana Factory, 25 W. Third St., Bethlehem, 8 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Monday - Friday. 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; www.bananafactory.org; 610-332-1300
“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com