Submitted by Sara Beck Sweeney
Our second annual neighborhood Art Show & Sale took place Friday June 24th and continued into Saturday June 25th, and it was a wonderful improvement on last year’s successful event! Allegheny West resident artist and show founder Dennis Bergevin, with support from numerous skilled neighbors, expanded the show this year to include artists and attendees from all across the Northside. The expansion was made logistically possible by the new location at 831 W North Avenue, generously offered for the show by Elaine Stone and Mitchell Schwartz, neighbors and owners of SMARTSolution Technologies. Their crew at SMARTSolution also helped ready the space for the event. Beyond being just bigger, the space, with its open layout, exposed brick walls and huge arching windows was the perfect venue for such a large and wide-ranging show of artwork.
Fifty artists submitted up to two pieces each for a show of close to 100 works of art. Thankfully we had wonderful neighbors like Shannon & Holly Pultz and Jonathan Steinhauser who were willing to lend their time and skills to expertly hang and light everything.
Other talented friends and neighbors generously contributed to the event’s success as well: Lili Troviato provided musical entertainment, Ritsu Shimizu created beautiful flower arrangements, Cheryl Towers painted signage (as well as helping out generally with the event) and Sara Beck Sweeney helped with marketing. Dennis donated one of his paintings to be raffled off to benefit the Humane Society and Hilary Mosser donated her time to sell the raffle tickets throughout Friday night’s event. Their efforts raised $350 for the cause.
An estimated 150 people attended the event, purchasing 20 works of art. AWCC provided not only their support, but also snacks, wine and other beverages, and paper products.
Thank you to all those mentioned in this article, as well as the friends and neighbors who brought food and drink to share. Thanks also to those numerous individuals who pitched in when they saw a need: Scott Mosser, Eleanor Coleman and last but certainly not least Dennis’ husband, Doug Schreck. Everyone’s collaboration and support made for a wonderful event! We are already looking forward to next year!