Art Alley events, a partnership between Center for Creative Exploration and the city, debut July 1 First Friday
Wednesday, June 29th, 2022
This summer, the Center for Creative Exploration (CCE) at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design will partner with the City of Lancaster to program free make-and-go offerings and creative experiences for all ages in the newly branded Art Alley. The partnership launched with May’s First Friday and will continue through October 7th. CCE will bring in creative partners such as Lancaster Creative Works, the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, Lancaster Museum of Art, and more. Alongside the opportunities to participate in a variety of creative projects, artists will be showcasing their art and selling their work throughout the evening.
On tap for July 1 First Friday: A collaboration with Demuth Foundation, Summer Bugs and Blooms, from 5-8 pm.
“As we begin to enter a summer with more events and engagement than we have seen in the past two years, it helps to have supportive partners to make these experiences a reality.”
The Art Alley is located at William Henry Place between the Lancaster City Welcome Center and Lancaster Central Market. The mission of Art Alley is to extend the First Friday experience beyond observation and into participation.
“Art Alley is really the formalization of an already existing collaborative relationship between the City of Lancaster and PCA&D,” says Natalie Lascek, CCE Director. “We’re excited to create with the community through our own programming and bring the amazing programming of many of our arts and culture partner organizations to the forefront. As we begin to enter a summer with more events and engagement than we have seen in the past two years, it helps to have supportive partners to make these experiences a reality.”
The Art Alley also aims to create space for artists of all kinds to showcase and sell their work and talk with the wider community. Early First Fridays saw artists vending wares on the streets. In recent years, the attention has shifted to more traditional forms of artist exposure and opportunities to sell work (i.e. within gallery spaces or storefronts). Outdoor popups have met with great success, and Art Alley hopes to provide even more opportunities for artists to sell their work.
Having both brick and mortar storefronts, traditional gallery spaces and pop-up opportunities serves artists of all backgrounds and encourages the continued evolution of First Fridays. This is especially important as the city continues to recover from the impact of pandemic-related closures. CCE @ PCA&D and the City of Lancaster hope in-person engagements via Art Alley will help community members reconnect with creativity and each other through making together.
Future Art Alley dates: August 5, September 2, and October 7.