Help Save Our Gallery
Boca Raton, FL – Art on Park Gallery, 800 Park Avenue in Lake Park has been under the leadership of the Artists of Palm Beach County, Inc. (APBC), a 501c3 non-profit organization, for over 6 years. With more than a hundred local artist members, the gallery is the home of over a dozen resident artists and exhibits works of artists from throughout Palm Beach County. APBC’s mission is to bring artists together to share and learn from each other and to offer the opportunity to the community to create an environment that encourages the arts. In fact, the group has helped to bring a new creative and cultural direction to the Town of Lake Park. Although APBC has been grateful for the generous rental arrangement by the town, the group was advised by John D’Agostino, the Town Manager, that the gallery does not meet a “paramount public or municipal purpose” and they will therefore have to vacate the premises by November 21, 2019. He plans to use the building as a temporary record storage facility.
For the past six years, the gallery has been open six days a week from noon to 6 PM and has offered free programs including ongoing exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations and classes to local residents. In addition to providing an affordable venue for artists, and educational opportunities for the community, APBC also generates scholarship money. The past two years, board member, Grant Williams, initiated High School Student Exhibitions and provided a two- week exhibit venue and scholarship money for students in Palm Beach Gardens High School. This past year Jupiter High School was added for another two week exhibition. APBC also was a sponsor for this years Lake Park Back to School Extravaganza, and ten APBC members volunteered their time to distribute food, answer questions, and direct the hundreds of people that attended the event.
The numerous exhibitions and solo exhibits over the years have included many that helped to raise money for various local charitable organizations including the Audubon Society, Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Friends of the Lake Park Public Library. In fact, APBC collaborated with the Public Library on a number of occasions exhibiting work and providing presentations. A recent Art on Park Gallery exhibit, “Now It Is Summer.” displayed the artwork done by 7 to 12 year olds in the Lake Park Summer Camp Program who took part in an art event at the library with supplies donated by APBC.
All this is to say that the APBC hopes to remain in the Art on Park Gallery. On September 18th a large number of members, some wearing APBC T-shirts, with a stack of support letters in hand attended the Lake Park CRA Special Meeting and spoke out during the public comment time on non-agenda items. Though each person had a two minute time limit to speak, the public time took an hour and a half. Their plan was to send a message to the town leaders that art and art education is of paramount importance to the Lake Park community. Their hope is that the Town leaders will re-evaluate their decision. They have now begun a petition and are reaching out to the larger Palm Beach County community to help them save their gallery. Municipalities throughout the country and even the world have recognized that art and artists have a huge economic impact on the neighborhoods that nurture and encourage them.
In the meantime a call for artists has gone out for a Member’s Choice exhibit, which will run from October 10th through November 16th with an Opening Reception on October 18, 2019. Everyone is invited and the Artists of Palm Beach County is looking forward to celebrating the talent of its membership. Please mark your calendar and plan to celebrate with them.
