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Trumbull Art Gallery to celebrate 60 years
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The Trumbull Art Gallery, 158 N. Park Avenue, will remember its 60-year history with a daylong celebration Saturday featuring a Pots in the Park ceramic festival, dedication of its new TAG Underground space and a new exhibit.
Activities run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the Pots in the Park from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. including pottery demonstrations across Park Avenue from the gallery; dedication of TAG Underground from 5 to 7 p.m. and opening reception for the 53rd annual TAG multimedia exhibition from 6 to 9 p.m.
A Courthouse Square art hop sponsored by the Fine Art Council of Trumbull County will take place from noon to 5 p.m.
“The Trumbull Art Gallery has been an enduring presence in the local community for 60 years, and to mark this milestone, TAG’s board of directors felt it was important to hold a celebration that could be enjoyed by not only members of our organization but all members of the community,” said Pat Galgozy, TAG director.
TAG Underground is a 4,000-square-foot basement space that has received close to $100,000 worth of improvements under the leadership of artist Jesse Wilson, a recent Kent State University graduate who lives downtown.
The basement received a new cement floor, sprinkler system, fabrication of an artist-in-residence studio and storage areas. TAG has applied for a “lift,” which will make access to the basement easier for people with disabilities.
Wilson, who designed and built the Underground space, said one focus will be to teach ceramics, including the use of its new kiln. The Underground will have a photography darkroom for people interested in learning about photography and its history.
Another focus will be to provide exposure to ceramics to people with disabilities. “I worked 18 years with people with disabilities,” Wilson said. “It’s important to me.”
Pots in the Park will include clay artists providing pottery demonstrations and exhibiting their works in Courthouse Square.
TAG, formerly known as Trumbull Art Guild, was formed in 1957 and moved in 1969 to the historical Gilmer House on Mahoning Avenue Northwest. The nonprofit moved from there in 2003 to East Market Street, then to its present Courthouse Square location in 2014.
TAG presents eight exhibitions per year, showcases and sells a variety of original art and contemporary crafts by local artists and offers workshops and classes for all ages and skill levels as well as lectures and demonstrations by visiting artists.
The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.