Art in Expected and Unexpected Places:

The inaugural Amherst Biennial is set to launch October 7 with a series of openings and events highlighting the Valley’s best art and artists.

Organized by the Amherst Public Art Commission (APAC), the Biennial will incorporate rolling openings, beginning at the Amherst Town Hall from 5-8pm in conjunction with the monthly Art Walk on October 7. Other openings and receptions Saturday, October 9, 6-9pm at other venues include:

• Nacul Center, 512 Main Street;
• East Street School, 70 South East Street;
ETTA Gallery, Main St.
• Kendrick Park on North Pleasant Street;
• Bank of America at the corner of Pleasant and Amity Streets;
• The Blue Marble, 191 North Pleasant Street;
• The Chopping Block, 40 Main Street;
• Food For Thought Books, 106 North Pleasant Street;
• AJ Hastings, 45 South Pleasant Street;
• Hope and Feathers Framing, 319 Main Street; and
• Zanna, 187 North Pleasant Street.

The exhibition runs through December 5.

Artist, curator, and APAC Chair Terry Rooney conceived of the Biennial as a way to change the paradigm of how artwork is seen in our region. Susan Loring Wells, former director of the Fiber Arts Center, and Tony Maroulis, former co-director of Wunderarts and current executive director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce are co-curators for this first-ever exhibition.

A partial list of the 44 Biennial exhibitors includes: installation artist Karen Dolmanisth, multi-media artist Sarah Bliss; painters Oriole Feshbach, Lourdes Morales, and Marlene Rye; photographers Anita Licis-Ribak and Sloan Tomlinson; and sculptors Chris Nelson and Jim Doubleday.