The Emerson celebrates 25 years in the arts

THE EMERSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS & CULTURE 

The Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture kicked off its third annual Celebration of the Arts with a silent auction during the show’s opening reception on Friday, Dec. 8, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Larry Blackwood’s “Escher in Yellowstone” is one of a wide variety of artwork donated to the Emerson’s Celebration of the Arts exhibition and up for silent auction through Jan. 26.

The Celebration of the Arts exhibit is a juried collection of original art donated by local and regional artists in support of the Emerson. Silent bidding will continue through the exhibition’s culmination in the organization’s biggest annual fundraiser event on Jan. 26, in the Emerson Ballroom.

The 30-plus artists participating in this year’s exhibit will display a wide array of mediums including oil paintings, watercolors, ceramics, metalwork, glass and fiber arts.

This year, the Emerson is celebrating its 25th anniversary as an arts organization, and the 100th year of the historic building’s existence.

The Emerson existed as a schoolhouse from 1918 to 1992. In tandem with the Celebration of the Arts exhibition, two other exhibits pay tribute to the building’s schoolhouse years. The Emerson partnered with the Gallatin History Museum to curate two exhibits that explore the origins of school and social dances as well as vintage fashions. These exhibits honor the past and commemorate the organization’s future.

“A Night to Remember—Winter Formal” is a throwback to formal dances, vintage fashions and historic prominence of the Emerson building in the Gallatin Valley. Vintage formal attire, courtesy of the Gallatin History Museum and individual community members, will be showcased in the Lobby Gallery.

On display in the Weaver Room is “A Night to Remember—A Photographic Journey of Dance Through the Ages.” This exhibit is comprised of historic photographs from school and community dances that took place around the Gallatin Valley.

Visit theemerson.org for more information.