COMMUNITY IMPACT REPORT, 2023-24
COMMUNITY VALUE
3. Over the past year, how did your artistic offerings and/or services support your community culturally, educationally, and/or economically? (Your response may include a description of the value provided to your community, whether adding to its cultural landscape, educational opportunities, or economic opportunities promoted directly or indirectly within your community).
Through 2023 and into 2024, Art Plus Gallery’s programming, art exhibits, activities and community of artists provided a wide variety of cultural, educational and artistically rich opportunities for Berks County residents, young and old.
On-going art exhibits: With shows changing every two months, each year our main gallery at 604 Penn Avenue exhibited around 1000 pieces of original art by our member artists. All were offered for sale, and price points ranging from under $100 to over $1000 drew appreciators and collectors across the economic spectrum. As always, our members donated 25% of all gallery sales to Art Plus, which in turn helped cover operating expenses and fund our “ArtReach” activities to the community. All exhibits are free and open to the public to view.
Shows in our Featured Exhibit Wing change monthly, and in the course of the year showcase original artwork by guest artists, community groups and/or students as well as our member artists. Guest artists include accomplished artists as well as emerging talents who can benefit from the boost in visibility, credibility and sales from a well-publicized exhibit here. ArtReach groups such as the Olivet Boys & Girls Club and art students of Reading Area Community College, greatly appreciate the opportunity to be part of (and bring friends and family to) a professional exhibit. While the artwork of youth groups is not offered for sale through the gallery, there is invariably interest from collectors, and we pass those inquiries on to teachers and supervisors.
Through relationships developed by the gallery, members and Friends of Art Plus also regularly exhibit work at other venues around the county, including restaurants, retail stores, corporate centers, medical facilities and parks/recreational facilities. Show schedules vary from the bi-monthly to seasonally. We give these partners a commission of all sales that go through their establishments.
Special Events: Initiated by Art Plus in 2015, Plein Air West Reading (PAWR) has grown to become one of the region’s major art events. This year’s competition drew 30 top artists from nine states to spend six days capturing the beauty and character of Berks County. It has attracted “pass-through” awards from organizations such as the Berks History Center and the Schuylkill River Greenways Association as well as individuals, encouraging artists to extol and share many of our area’s environmental and historical treasures. The Plein Air West Reading exhibit has become a keystone attraction of Art on the Avenue, during which the exhibit is typically viewed by 800+ visitors. Other exhibitors as well as the food and beverage vendors benefit from the 20,000+ people that we help draw to this one-day street festival.
Our 2023 event included a “Quick Draw”, inviting the community to paint or draw along with the juried artists to create the best piece of art they could within two hours. The popularity of this mini-event has made it a permanent part of PAWR.
Our annual “Nature of Nolde Forest” Student Art Contest invited students throughout the county to visit and get to know this Pennsylvania Environmental Education Center. In its eighth year, the contest encourages them to express their experience in artwork, and potentially display it in a professional art exhibit at the park’s historic mansion, which now serves as the administrative center while preserving much of the original grandeur and character. In addition to coordinating this event through public, private, and charter school teachers, we also encourage homeschooling families to be involved.
For the second year in a row, Art Plus was asked to add an artistic accent to Tails, Trails & Ales, the September fund-raiser for the Berks Nature Conservancy. Eight artists from our gallery painted en plein air during the one-day event. The success of this effort led to other areas of increased engagement with this organization, discussed later in this document.
We are developing a relationship with the Berks History Center. Planning began in 2023 for an event that could promote awareness of Art Plus Gallery and plein air painting to a new audience, while also promoting awareness of the Berks History Center and our region’s rich heritage among a wider audience and younger demographic. The “Art of Berks History” Exhibit at the BHC in fall 2024 will also be used to launch a program to bring K-12 schools and independent student groups to the museum to draw and learn about the exhibits there.
In the spirit of exhibiting compassion and positivity, Art Plus is developing a relationship with Keystone Advanced Therapies, a medical center specializing in treating chronic pain and severe depression. We began in June 2024 by hanging artwork of soothing, positive themes in treatment rooms where patients will often spend 1-4 hours per session.
Internships: Each year Art Plus sponsors an internship for students who are interested in learning about the art gallery business and who are planning to pursue a career in the arts. Our internships provide meaningful, educational and artistic opportunities for students to gain real world gallery experience including but not limited to: co-hosting the gallery during business hours, helping with exhibit hangings and openings, working with various committee activities, possibly showing artwork in the gallery or in an outside exhibit, helping with outreach activities and playing an active role in events such as Plein Air West Reading.
Volunteer Opportunities: For community members who want to be a part of the Berks County art scene, we offer many opportunities to get involved. Typically engaging 100+ volunteers in various events through the course of the year, these opportunities can provide truly unique experiences, such as allowing for a behind the scenes look at art exhibitions, and the chance to be part of events that have notably positive impacts on the community.
4. Over the past year, describe how artistic decisions were made and by whom. How did you know your artistic products and/or services were meaningful to your community?
How artistic decisions are made and by whom:
As a cooperative, there is no hierarchy in Art Plus Gallery. Members equally share in ideas, planning and execution of artistic decisions and activities. The process is managed by a Board of Directors consisting of a Director, Co-Director, Treasurer, Secretary, West Reading Liaison and two At Large members. Any member may seek a seat on the board, which is selected by election every 2 years. The Board of Directors manages the general affairs of the organization, and recommendations are bound by the vote of the membership at monthly general meetings. The Board of Directors meets one week ahead of each general membership meeting to develop the agenda.
How we know our artistic products and/or services are meaningful to our community:
Our Friends of Art Plus Gallery ranks has grown from 30 in 2018 to 83 in 2024.
Growing public interest: We routinely invite gallery visitors to sign up for online or postcard updates on upcoming gallery activities. Periodically updated, these databases have grown steadily and now total over 900+ addresses
“Nature of Nolde Forest” Student Art Contest: Art Plus coordinates and produces the Nature of Nolde student art contest which is free and open to all Berks County students grades 1-12. Since we launched the program in 2015, Nolde has gone through two changes in administration. While each had different approaches to managing the park and its activities, all have embraced the student art contest as a critical tie to the schools and the public. The value of this annual event can be measured by the number of schools/students that register to participate, the number of artworks that are submitted to the final exhibit, the number of people who attend the award ceremony, and by direct feedback from the participants and teachers. This past year, 13 teachers and 7 parents of homeschooled students submitted a total of 52 artworks in the final exhibit.
Community Engagement through the Berks Nature Conservancy: Following our involvement in the 2022 and 2023 Tails, Trails & Ales fundraiser, Art Plus artists were invited to display artwork that depicts scenes from of their 6 preserves, at The Nature Place’s retail store. The exhibit rotated every six months.
Plein Air West Reading began in 2015 with a dozen artists painting along Penn Avenue. It has grown steadily; Five years ago, the event expanded beyond the borders of West Reading to become county-wide in terms of subjects. The 2023 event drew 30 accomplished artists from seven states, selected by the juror, nationally recognized artist Nancy Tankersley. This past year, artists from nine states, including FL, LA and TX, were welcomed to paint for a full 6 days throughout the county and at specially selected venues chosen by our community partners.
Media: Local publications frequently come to Art Plus for articles about art exhibits and events. Avenues Magazine (quarterly), Magazine Stroll (monthly) and the Reading Eagle (daily), together feature a dozen articles each year about Art Plus, our artists and related activities. Art Plus makes sure free art events and exhibits are included in community calendars and other local art organizations’ newsletters. These events are also routinely shared through our website, social media posts, and extensive mailing list.
Extended ArtReach: Art Plus carries out much of its two-pronged mission through our ArtReach programming that includes several components. We measure the meaningfulness and relevance of our art programming and art-oriented opportunities in a variety of ways depending on the programming or opportunity.
Recent ArtReach activities include:
Internship: in 2023, Art Plus sponsored and coordinated a 3+ month internship of two Berks County High school students in partnership with Wilson High School’s internship program. Our opportunity is for students who are interested in learning about the art gallery business and pursuing a career in the arts. Internships are meaningful ways for students to gain real world gallery experience: co-hosting the gallery during business hours, helping with exhibit hangings and openings, working with various committee activities, possibly showing artwork in the gallery or in an outside exhibit, and playing an important role in events such as Plein Air West Reading. In the future we plan to evolve this into more of a mentorship program tailored to each student's abilities and goals.
Featured Exhibit Wing: We periodically offer our Featured Exhibit Wing (FEW) to non-members including emerging artists, students and professionals to expand meaningful opportunities to them as well as the public. From January 2023 to January 2024, these exhibitors included 20+ Reading Area Community College art students, 60 Plein Air West Reading artists, 20+ Art Teachers of Berks County and the 30+ Friends of Art Plus.
Student Art Scholarship: Since 2000, Art Plus Gallery has sponsored an annual scholarship award for a Berks County high school planning to pursue a degree in the visual arts. Beginning as a $500 award, in 2023 we increased it to $1000 to make it even more meaningful to students and their families. In the first year we had four applicants. This past year we had ten.
Annual Daily Artwork Challenge: Each January for the past 4 years, Art Plus Gallery has hosted a Daily Artwork Challenge (DAC) in which Art Plus Gallery artists and Friends of Art Plus are invited to create an artwork every day and post their artwork on our Facebook page. This event is free to participate in and it promotes artistic camaraderie and growth while offering free publicity and exposure to both seasoned as well as emerging artists. The Facebook page is open to the public and has 790+ followers. In February, the gallery opened its Featured Exhibit Wing to all DAC participants and displayed select entries from the previous month’s challenge. The exhibit was free and open to the public through the month of February.
Public Art Activities: Each year during Art on the Avenue, Fall Fest, and other major West Reading events, Art Plus always offers at least one family- or youth-oriented art activity that is free to the public, plus one that asks for a nominal donation to cover material costs. In 2023 we provided paints, small canvases and easels, and the guidance needed for young children to create “Mini Masterpieces”. Adults and children alike were invited to have their photos taken, without cost, in any of four “Face in the Hole” large panels based on a famous piece of artwork or artist.
We determine the impact of our arts learning initiatives by collecting and reviewing data during and at the close of each program we coordinate or participate in. We collect information such as the numbers of participants in each program; participant feedback through post-program surveys; observations and recommendations from gallery members involved in events; surveys of gallery visitors; and feedback from our event partnering organizations such as The Nature Place, West Reading Community Revitalization Foundation, the Nolde Environmental Education Center, The Berks History Center, Schuylkill River Greenways and Berks Arts Alliance.
While several of our member artists teach and mentor, Art Plus does not offer classes per se. In keeping with our mission to “promote art appreciation and participation throughout Berks County in general, and among students in particular,” our learning initiatives center around connecting the community with positive and inspiring art-related activities and experiences.
We extend our gallery space and programs to offer aspiring artists the experience of being in an art exhibit that is professionally organized, staged and promoted. Since our featured exhibit of RACC art students in January of 2023 and the Art Teachers of Berks County exhibit in January 2024, we have seen a sustained increase in the number of teenagers visiting Art Plus Gallery. The “Nature of Nolde Forest” Student Art Contest culminated with an awards ceremony. With Nolde’s activities center packed with young arts, their family and friends, one of our members shares judges’ comments and her own professional analyses as each winner comes up by the podium to receive their award. The pride gratitude and enthusiasm of the participants and their families was heart-warming to all involved.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION VALUE
Art Plus is frequently contacted by other community organizations seeking to add fine art dimensions to their events and activities. Our “Can Help” attitude usually proves beneficial to all parties involved, and in some cases leads to expanded partnerships.
Art Plus artists have been invited two years in a row to participate in the Reading Theater Project’s “In Nature’s Studio”, held at the Reading Public Museum Arboretum. Interspersed among musicians, dancers, actors and performers, seven plein air artists from Art Plus Gallery interacted with visitors to the 90-minute event, answering questions about their art and sharing information about the gallery. The free event was attended by hundreds.
Similarly, Art Plus artists partnered with the Nolde Forest Education Center to produce an “Art in the Park” day. On 11/5/23, seven Art Plus artists and Friends of the gallery set up along popular trails to paint, work on nature journals, and demo woodworking. Students and adults were invited to interact with, or even create alongside, the artists for three hours. Artwork created that day was later hung for an open house in Nolde Forest Mansion for all to enjoy, and to learn more about the year-round slate of activities in the 724-acre environmental education center.
Currently in the works, Art Plus Gallery has been asked to partner with the Berks History Center to coordinate an exhibit of recent plein air paintings done of designated historical sites throughout the county. Planning is underway for an exhibit slated to hang in September 2024.
Over the past year, Art Plus has carefully considered all opportunities to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and/or access with our planned programming and activities as well as when business owners and individuals from the community have reached out to us to partner in some way. Every aspect of our operations, from membership through public activities and consideration for community partnerships, is open to everyone.
In 2023-2024
LIST OF ARTS ACTIVITIES
Art Plus Gallery, 2023-July 2024
Links:
Art Plus Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/artplusgallerypa/
Art Plus Website - www.artplusgallerypa.com
Plein Air Painter’s Guide to Berks County created by members of Art Plus - https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4250416,-76.1132563,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!6m1!1s1SmTFxfdPlFlKaaG1iTlkdBVc2u4QFEke?authuser=2&entry=ttu
3. Over the past year, how did your artistic offerings and/or services support your community culturally, educationally, and/or economically? (Your response may include a description of the value provided to your community, whether adding to its cultural landscape, educational opportunities, or economic opportunities promoted directly or indirectly within your community).
Through 2023 and into 2024, Art Plus Gallery’s programming, art exhibits, activities and community of artists provided a wide variety of cultural, educational and artistically rich opportunities for Berks County residents, young and old.
On-going art exhibits: With shows changing every two months, each year our main gallery at 604 Penn Avenue exhibited around 1000 pieces of original art by our member artists. All were offered for sale, and price points ranging from under $100 to over $1000 drew appreciators and collectors across the economic spectrum. As always, our members donated 25% of all gallery sales to Art Plus, which in turn helped cover operating expenses and fund our “ArtReach” activities to the community. All exhibits are free and open to the public to view.
Shows in our Featured Exhibit Wing change monthly, and in the course of the year showcase original artwork by guest artists, community groups and/or students as well as our member artists. Guest artists include accomplished artists as well as emerging talents who can benefit from the boost in visibility, credibility and sales from a well-publicized exhibit here. ArtReach groups such as the Olivet Boys & Girls Club and art students of Reading Area Community College, greatly appreciate the opportunity to be part of (and bring friends and family to) a professional exhibit. While the artwork of youth groups is not offered for sale through the gallery, there is invariably interest from collectors, and we pass those inquiries on to teachers and supervisors.
Through relationships developed by the gallery, members and Friends of Art Plus also regularly exhibit work at other venues around the county, including restaurants, retail stores, corporate centers, medical facilities and parks/recreational facilities. Show schedules vary from the bi-monthly to seasonally. We give these partners a commission of all sales that go through their establishments.
Special Events: Initiated by Art Plus in 2015, Plein Air West Reading (PAWR) has grown to become one of the region’s major art events. This year’s competition drew 30 top artists from nine states to spend six days capturing the beauty and character of Berks County. It has attracted “pass-through” awards from organizations such as the Berks History Center and the Schuylkill River Greenways Association as well as individuals, encouraging artists to extol and share many of our area’s environmental and historical treasures. The Plein Air West Reading exhibit has become a keystone attraction of Art on the Avenue, during which the exhibit is typically viewed by 800+ visitors. Other exhibitors as well as the food and beverage vendors benefit from the 20,000+ people that we help draw to this one-day street festival.
Our 2023 event included a “Quick Draw”, inviting the community to paint or draw along with the juried artists to create the best piece of art they could within two hours. The popularity of this mini-event has made it a permanent part of PAWR.
Our annual “Nature of Nolde Forest” Student Art Contest invited students throughout the county to visit and get to know this Pennsylvania Environmental Education Center. In its eighth year, the contest encourages them to express their experience in artwork, and potentially display it in a professional art exhibit at the park’s historic mansion, which now serves as the administrative center while preserving much of the original grandeur and character. In addition to coordinating this event through public, private, and charter school teachers, we also encourage homeschooling families to be involved.
For the second year in a row, Art Plus was asked to add an artistic accent to Tails, Trails & Ales, the September fund-raiser for the Berks Nature Conservancy. Eight artists from our gallery painted en plein air during the one-day event. The success of this effort led to other areas of increased engagement with this organization, discussed later in this document.
We are developing a relationship with the Berks History Center. Planning began in 2023 for an event that could promote awareness of Art Plus Gallery and plein air painting to a new audience, while also promoting awareness of the Berks History Center and our region’s rich heritage among a wider audience and younger demographic. The “Art of Berks History” Exhibit at the BHC in fall 2024 will also be used to launch a program to bring K-12 schools and independent student groups to the museum to draw and learn about the exhibits there.
In the spirit of exhibiting compassion and positivity, Art Plus is developing a relationship with Keystone Advanced Therapies, a medical center specializing in treating chronic pain and severe depression. We began in June 2024 by hanging artwork of soothing, positive themes in treatment rooms where patients will often spend 1-4 hours per session.
Internships: Each year Art Plus sponsors an internship for students who are interested in learning about the art gallery business and who are planning to pursue a career in the arts. Our internships provide meaningful, educational and artistic opportunities for students to gain real world gallery experience including but not limited to: co-hosting the gallery during business hours, helping with exhibit hangings and openings, working with various committee activities, possibly showing artwork in the gallery or in an outside exhibit, helping with outreach activities and playing an active role in events such as Plein Air West Reading.
Volunteer Opportunities: For community members who want to be a part of the Berks County art scene, we offer many opportunities to get involved. Typically engaging 100+ volunteers in various events through the course of the year, these opportunities can provide truly unique experiences, such as allowing for a behind the scenes look at art exhibitions, and the chance to be part of events that have notably positive impacts on the community.
4. Over the past year, describe how artistic decisions were made and by whom. How did you know your artistic products and/or services were meaningful to your community?
How artistic decisions are made and by whom:
As a cooperative, there is no hierarchy in Art Plus Gallery. Members equally share in ideas, planning and execution of artistic decisions and activities. The process is managed by a Board of Directors consisting of a Director, Co-Director, Treasurer, Secretary, West Reading Liaison and two At Large members. Any member may seek a seat on the board, which is selected by election every 2 years. The Board of Directors manages the general affairs of the organization, and recommendations are bound by the vote of the membership at monthly general meetings. The Board of Directors meets one week ahead of each general membership meeting to develop the agenda.
How we know our artistic products and/or services are meaningful to our community:
Our Friends of Art Plus Gallery ranks has grown from 30 in 2018 to 83 in 2024.
Growing public interest: We routinely invite gallery visitors to sign up for online or postcard updates on upcoming gallery activities. Periodically updated, these databases have grown steadily and now total over 900+ addresses
“Nature of Nolde Forest” Student Art Contest: Art Plus coordinates and produces the Nature of Nolde student art contest which is free and open to all Berks County students grades 1-12. Since we launched the program in 2015, Nolde has gone through two changes in administration. While each had different approaches to managing the park and its activities, all have embraced the student art contest as a critical tie to the schools and the public. The value of this annual event can be measured by the number of schools/students that register to participate, the number of artworks that are submitted to the final exhibit, the number of people who attend the award ceremony, and by direct feedback from the participants and teachers. This past year, 13 teachers and 7 parents of homeschooled students submitted a total of 52 artworks in the final exhibit.
Community Engagement through the Berks Nature Conservancy: Following our involvement in the 2022 and 2023 Tails, Trails & Ales fundraiser, Art Plus artists were invited to display artwork that depicts scenes from of their 6 preserves, at The Nature Place’s retail store. The exhibit rotated every six months.
Plein Air West Reading began in 2015 with a dozen artists painting along Penn Avenue. It has grown steadily; Five years ago, the event expanded beyond the borders of West Reading to become county-wide in terms of subjects. The 2023 event drew 30 accomplished artists from seven states, selected by the juror, nationally recognized artist Nancy Tankersley. This past year, artists from nine states, including FL, LA and TX, were welcomed to paint for a full 6 days throughout the county and at specially selected venues chosen by our community partners.
Media: Local publications frequently come to Art Plus for articles about art exhibits and events. Avenues Magazine (quarterly), Magazine Stroll (monthly) and the Reading Eagle (daily), together feature a dozen articles each year about Art Plus, our artists and related activities. Art Plus makes sure free art events and exhibits are included in community calendars and other local art organizations’ newsletters. These events are also routinely shared through our website, social media posts, and extensive mailing list.
Extended ArtReach: Art Plus carries out much of its two-pronged mission through our ArtReach programming that includes several components. We measure the meaningfulness and relevance of our art programming and art-oriented opportunities in a variety of ways depending on the programming or opportunity.
Recent ArtReach activities include:
Internship: in 2023, Art Plus sponsored and coordinated a 3+ month internship of two Berks County High school students in partnership with Wilson High School’s internship program. Our opportunity is for students who are interested in learning about the art gallery business and pursuing a career in the arts. Internships are meaningful ways for students to gain real world gallery experience: co-hosting the gallery during business hours, helping with exhibit hangings and openings, working with various committee activities, possibly showing artwork in the gallery or in an outside exhibit, and playing an important role in events such as Plein Air West Reading. In the future we plan to evolve this into more of a mentorship program tailored to each student's abilities and goals.
Featured Exhibit Wing: We periodically offer our Featured Exhibit Wing (FEW) to non-members including emerging artists, students and professionals to expand meaningful opportunities to them as well as the public. From January 2023 to January 2024, these exhibitors included 20+ Reading Area Community College art students, 60 Plein Air West Reading artists, 20+ Art Teachers of Berks County and the 30+ Friends of Art Plus.
Student Art Scholarship: Since 2000, Art Plus Gallery has sponsored an annual scholarship award for a Berks County high school planning to pursue a degree in the visual arts. Beginning as a $500 award, in 2023 we increased it to $1000 to make it even more meaningful to students and their families. In the first year we had four applicants. This past year we had ten.
Annual Daily Artwork Challenge: Each January for the past 4 years, Art Plus Gallery has hosted a Daily Artwork Challenge (DAC) in which Art Plus Gallery artists and Friends of Art Plus are invited to create an artwork every day and post their artwork on our Facebook page. This event is free to participate in and it promotes artistic camaraderie and growth while offering free publicity and exposure to both seasoned as well as emerging artists. The Facebook page is open to the public and has 790+ followers. In February, the gallery opened its Featured Exhibit Wing to all DAC participants and displayed select entries from the previous month’s challenge. The exhibit was free and open to the public through the month of February.
Public Art Activities: Each year during Art on the Avenue, Fall Fest, and other major West Reading events, Art Plus always offers at least one family- or youth-oriented art activity that is free to the public, plus one that asks for a nominal donation to cover material costs. In 2023 we provided paints, small canvases and easels, and the guidance needed for young children to create “Mini Masterpieces”. Adults and children alike were invited to have their photos taken, without cost, in any of four “Face in the Hole” large panels based on a famous piece of artwork or artist.
We determine the impact of our arts learning initiatives by collecting and reviewing data during and at the close of each program we coordinate or participate in. We collect information such as the numbers of participants in each program; participant feedback through post-program surveys; observations and recommendations from gallery members involved in events; surveys of gallery visitors; and feedback from our event partnering organizations such as The Nature Place, West Reading Community Revitalization Foundation, the Nolde Environmental Education Center, The Berks History Center, Schuylkill River Greenways and Berks Arts Alliance.
While several of our member artists teach and mentor, Art Plus does not offer classes per se. In keeping with our mission to “promote art appreciation and participation throughout Berks County in general, and among students in particular,” our learning initiatives center around connecting the community with positive and inspiring art-related activities and experiences.
We extend our gallery space and programs to offer aspiring artists the experience of being in an art exhibit that is professionally organized, staged and promoted. Since our featured exhibit of RACC art students in January of 2023 and the Art Teachers of Berks County exhibit in January 2024, we have seen a sustained increase in the number of teenagers visiting Art Plus Gallery. The “Nature of Nolde Forest” Student Art Contest culminated with an awards ceremony. With Nolde’s activities center packed with young arts, their family and friends, one of our members shares judges’ comments and her own professional analyses as each winner comes up by the podium to receive their award. The pride gratitude and enthusiasm of the participants and their families was heart-warming to all involved.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION VALUE
Art Plus is frequently contacted by other community organizations seeking to add fine art dimensions to their events and activities. Our “Can Help” attitude usually proves beneficial to all parties involved, and in some cases leads to expanded partnerships.
Art Plus artists have been invited two years in a row to participate in the Reading Theater Project’s “In Nature’s Studio”, held at the Reading Public Museum Arboretum. Interspersed among musicians, dancers, actors and performers, seven plein air artists from Art Plus Gallery interacted with visitors to the 90-minute event, answering questions about their art and sharing information about the gallery. The free event was attended by hundreds.
Similarly, Art Plus artists partnered with the Nolde Forest Education Center to produce an “Art in the Park” day. On 11/5/23, seven Art Plus artists and Friends of the gallery set up along popular trails to paint, work on nature journals, and demo woodworking. Students and adults were invited to interact with, or even create alongside, the artists for three hours. Artwork created that day was later hung for an open house in Nolde Forest Mansion for all to enjoy, and to learn more about the year-round slate of activities in the 724-acre environmental education center.
Currently in the works, Art Plus Gallery has been asked to partner with the Berks History Center to coordinate an exhibit of recent plein air paintings done of designated historical sites throughout the county. Planning is underway for an exhibit slated to hang in September 2024.
Over the past year, Art Plus has carefully considered all opportunities to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and/or access with our planned programming and activities as well as when business owners and individuals from the community have reached out to us to partner in some way. Every aspect of our operations, from membership through public activities and consideration for community partnerships, is open to everyone.
In 2023-2024
- In January 2023, we invited the art students of Reading Area Community College to share their changing perspectives: In 2021, the angst of their young lives in the midst of a pandemic was captured in their art that we displayed for the month. Their 2023 exhibit reflected the students’ renewed spirit, optimism and joy through a range of fine art media.
- The Art Plus Gallery Student Art Scholarship is open to all Berks County High School Seniors who are planning to pursue a degree in the visual arts in an accredited degree program. The Art Scholarship is advertised to every school district in Berks County. In addition, we advertise our scholarship through the Berks County Intermediate Unit, on our website, social media pages and through Berks County arts organizations’ newsletters. This past year we received 10 applications, up from 4 the previous year.
- Our highly professional, highly publicized Plein Air West Reading 2024 included the 2nd annual community “Quick Draw.” On Monday of that week, we invited anyone in the community to join the event’s field of professional artists to do the best painting or drawing that they could of Reading Public Museum Park in two hours. The museum displayed the exhibit in their large event tent across from the entrance, and awards were presented in adult and student categories. There was no fee for students K through college; adults participated for a nominal $10 entry fee. This year 38 people participated, and museum director Geoff Fleming acted as judge for the event.
- Art Plus produces and curates a Google-map based resource of acclaimed value to artists visiting our area. The Plein Air Painter’s Guide to Berks County was developed by members of Art Plus Gallery to share favorite locations and tips for painting in our multi-faceted region. Originally created for out-of-town artists juried into Plein Air West Reading, we have made this resource available to the public through a permanent place on our website, with free access to all. The Plein Air Painter’s Guide to Berks County link: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4250416,-76.1132563,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!6m1!1s1SmTFxfdPlFlKaaG1iTlkdBVc2u4QFEke?authuser=2&entry=ttu
- Art Plus worked in concert with the Berks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU) to get the word out about registration for the Nature of Nolde Forest Student Art exhibit, which is open to all Berks County students in grades 1-12. In addition, we directly contact 70+ teachers in our database, and promote registration through our website, social media and the newsletters of other Berks County arts organizations.
- Our board includes a West Reading Liaison. This member attends monthly borough business meetings to gather information on borough plans, issues and upcoming events. She shares updates on Art Plus activities, and then reports back to the board of directors any relevant information, potential partnerships, and upcoming opportunities for community participation. The board reviews the information in light of gallery activities as well as ways in which we can also advance diversity, equity, inclusion and/or access to our gallery and all we have to offer to the public.
- Art Plus partners with the Berks County Historical Society, which has been a supporter of Plein Air West Reading since 2022. The BCHS provides funding for an award and asks the juried Plein Air artists to paint one of several designated historic sites in Berks County. They change the locations each year to help expand the awareness of Berks County’s rich heritage.
- Art Plus is increasingly approached by a wide variety of other groups who hope to benefit from our resources and expertise. We are eager to partner with organizations that offer opportunities to help promote and fulfill our mission; to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and/or access to our gallery and the partnering organization. Recent partnerships have included schools wishing to place interns, tie curricula and introduce students to the professional art world; environmental stewards seeking to strengthen the bond between art and nature; a theater group looking to add plein air painting to a park-wide performance of music, dance and theater; medical facilities looking to enhance patient experience by adding local art to their walls, donations to organizations for their fund-raisers; an environmental educational facility looking to bring awareness to low impact, highly creative ways to spend time in nature; and requests from various groups for workshops and demos.
- Each month we are approached by artists seeking information about joining our cooperative. In addition to our 25 active members, we maintain a waiting list of up to three artists who have been juried in by the membership. The level of talent that our gallery attracts is increasingly impressive.
- Our non-profit mission has earned the respect and support of corporate and private donors. Not including pass-through donations to sponsor awards for Plein Air West Reading, last year, private and corporate funding was in the amount of $10,695
- Art Plus tracks the number of people who participate in our programming. In the past year, 57 students participated in our Nature of Nolde Forest Student Art contest. 800+ patrons attended our gallery openings. Between the awards ceremony, Art on the Avenue festival and extended show, last year over 1000 people seriously viewed the Plein Air West Reading exhibit. 4200+ people visited our website. Last year, our Facebook reach was up by 252.3% to 28.4K and Instagram reach up 196% to 3.8K
- This data indicates that the plans and actions our gallery takes throughout the year are relevant to our community.
LIST OF ARTS ACTIVITIES
Art Plus Gallery, 2023-July 2024
- 2 juried fine art competitions and exhibitions
- 6 student/school art exhibitions: “Nature of Nolde Forest” Student Art Contest (2), Art Students of RACC, Art Teacher of Berks, and community Quick Draw (2)
- 15 member exhibitions and public receptions at Art Plus
- 6 non-member (ArtReach/Guest Artist/Friends) exhibitions and public receptions at Art Plus
- 25 off-site public exhibitions
- 13 local community events: PAWR (2), Art on the Avenue (4; 2 ea. fine art & family), Quick Draw (2), Art in the Park, In Nature’s Studio (2), Tails, Trails & Ales (2),
- 3 Art Internships
- 2 College Scholarship Awards
- 4 partnerships with other non-profits for special events
Links:
Art Plus Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/artplusgallerypa/
Art Plus Website - www.artplusgallerypa.com
Plein Air Painter’s Guide to Berks County created by members of Art Plus - https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4250416,-76.1132563,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!6m1!1s1SmTFxfdPlFlKaaG1iTlkdBVc2u4QFEke?authuser=2&entry=ttu
