Artist showcase opens tonight at Bead & Berry

Maricopans will have two locations to view new art by local artists in March.

Tonight is the formal opening of the next Spotlight Showcase at Bead & Berry Coffee House presented by the Maricopa Arts Council (MAC). The reception is from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

This will be the sixth Spotlight Showcase presented by Maricopa ARTS Council in the same space. The theme for the newest showcase is “Totally Abstract.” The gallery includes 28 works by seven artists, created using four varied media.

Central input to the selection process came from Bead & Berry co-owner Gareth Kerlin. He has a strong background and education in the visual arts, and he was also on the selection team for the spring 2015 fifth”Spotlight Showcase” at Bead & Berry.

This gallery will also provide a glimpse of the café’s upcoming evening menu, which will go into effect when Bead & Berry initiates evening hours later this spring. A chamber ensemble from Maricopa Music Circle will entertain.

March 15 at City Hall there will be an evening Open Reception, sponsored by Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship, to mark the public unveiling of the second Maricopa Artists’ Gallery at City Hall. Titled “Just Maricopa,” the City Hall gallery will focus on the city’s many faces and facets. Works in five media highlight Maricopa’s moods and flavors — foliage and landscapes, the iconic water tower, animals and atmospheres. Twenty-one works by nine artists are in the show, and media include tapestry, water color, acrylic, photography and works on metal.

The city has been an active partner in bringing forward works of visual art by a spectrum of Maricopa artists, and the City Hall Gallery is expected to be host to a number of shows that change regularly over the year. Maricopa Artists’ Gallery at City Hall is open Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

MAC and MCE worked in collaboration with Art on the Veranda to organize the Spotlight Showcase and the Maricopa artists’ Gallery at City Hall.