Artful giving

Local galleries offer an artsy twist on holiday gifts

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THURSDAY, Nov. 19 — With the daylight hours dwindling and temperatures continuing to drop, residents of Greater Lansing are realizing the holidays — and the accompanying gift-giving — are just around the corner. Again this year, downtown’s Lansing Art Gallery and Old Town’s MICA Gallery are offering shoppers special holiday art exhibits with unique and creative gifts options.

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Each holiday season, the galleries open their showrooms to local artists to display and sell their work. Patrons are treated to an extensive variety of works by local and regional artists including paintings, photographs, ceramics, textiles, jewelry and much more.

The Lansing Art Gallery’s annual Holiday Exhibition began in 1977 and this year’s installment includes works from over 60 mid-Michigan artists.

“The Holiday Exhibition is an event we look forward to all year,” said Barb Whitney, executive director of the Lansing Art Gallery. “This event does so much good, not just for the artists but also for the gallery and the arts community as a whole.”

The exhibition kicks off tonight with an opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Participating artists will be on hand to discuss their works, complimentary hors d‘oeuvres will be provided and American Fifth Distillery will sling cocktails and mocktails. Gallery coordinator Sara Pulver curated this year’s exhibit with the help of local artist Lindsay Nonhof-Fisher.

“This is the first time we have had two curators for the event,” Whitney said. “We wanted to change the exhibit some over the last few years, and working directly with artists like Lindsay has helped bring a contemporary edge to the exhibit.”

The seasonal exhibit will honor gallery member coupons, which are sent out annually. A new feature at this year’s exhibit is payment plan options for buyers looking to purchase art pieces with a higher price tag.

“The gallery will offer plans such as six equal payments on a particular art piece or a lease-purchase agreement where monthly payments will be made for up to six months with the option to purchase following that time.” said Whitney.

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On the north side of town, the MICA Gallery is hosting the Art of Gifting, It’s annual holiday exhibit and art sale, which features works from over 40 local artists, kicked off earlier this month.

“The Art of Gifting event is always one of our most successful events of the year,” said Katrina Daniels, program director for MICA and curator of the event. “We use the Art of Gifting event as a way of offering our guests the highest quality work possible at the most affordable prices.”

Works featured at this year’s exhibit include pottery and ceramics, paintings, handmade cards, original photo prints and more. While visitors can check out the exhibit during normal gallery hours, MICA is hosting an open house for the “Art of Gifting” event noon to 6 p.m. on Dec. 5 with seasonal treats and mulled cider.

“The Art of Gifting seemed like an appropriate theme for this years exhibit because we really want people to start seeing artwork and handcrafted materials as viable holiday gifts.” Daniels said.


Holiday Exhibition

Nov. 19-Dec 23

11 a.m.– 5 p.m. Tuesday–Thursday; 11 a.m.– 8 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.– 4 p.m.

Saturday and first Sunday of the month

FREE

Lansing Art Gallery

119 N. Washington Square, Lansing

(517) 374-6400, lansingartgallery.org

The Art of Gifting

Through Dec. 23

Noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; noon-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, closed Monday

MICA Gallery

1210 Turner St., Lansing

(517) 371-4600, micagallery.org

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