BOUNTIFUL ARTIST Larry Wade (his work, “Courage Their Unfailing Beacon") is among those who will be participating in the first exhibit at the new gallery at the Davis Conference Center.
The Davis Arts Council (DAC) is marking their first foray into supporting the visual arts with the upcoming opening of the Snow Horse Art Gallery, located in the Davis Conference Center.
The grand opening reception, which is scheduled for Jan. 22 at 7 p.m., will mark the first days of what the arts council is calling the “first designated art gallery in northern Davis County.”
“This has been on our to-do list for three years, and it’s been incredible to finally have it come to fruition,” said DAC Executive Director Kirt Bateman. “It’s exciting to have made something out of nothing.”
The gallery’s first exhibit, “Davis County Artists Professional Invitational,” will be on display during the opening reception, and attendees will get the chance to speak with some of the featured artists.
There will also be food and live music, as well as a wine and soda bar.
“We encourage anyone to come who would like to,” said Bateman.
Only Davis County artists were invited to take part in the first exhibit, including Farmington’s Simon Winegar; Bountiful’s Larry Wade, Ann Marie Oborn, Garth Oborn, and George Handrahan; Layton’s Terrece Beesley, Judy Cooley, and Carol Merril; and Syracuse’s Scott Brough.
“There are just some phenomenal artists right here in Davis County,” said Chad Hancey, a member of the DAC board and head of their visual arts committee. “I don’t know how many people know that.”
Bateman credits Hancey with being the impetus behind the gallery’s creation. A longtime illustrator, Hancey had long been looking for a way to get the DAC to help start an art gallery in the area.
“Layton is the largest city in Davis County, and yet it didn’t have an art museum,” he said. “That didn’t seem right.”
Then one day, lightning struck as he was walking down the long hallway that connects the conference center with the Hilton Garden Inn.
“There was just this big blank wall, and I realized it would be the perfect place to display art,” said Hancey, who later helped orchestrate the deal with the conference center.
“Thousands of people from out of the state and even out of the country walk through there all the time.”
The professionals invitational is expected to stay up for six weeks after the opening, at which point the gallery will send out a call for entries for their next show.
There are two more exhibits scheduled for Snow Horse’s first year, with a juried high school exhibit set to open April 15 and a juried amateur exhibit set to open Sept. 10.
Though the shows are still months away, Hancey is already looking forward to them.
“When I was younger, the opportunities I had for my art to be displayed were invaluable in helping me decide what direction to go with my career,” he said. “Now it’s time to pay some of that back.”
The gallery’s shows are supported through entry fees, commissions on art sales, and sponsorships from local businesses.
Anyone interested in sponsoring a Snow Horse Gallery art show can either send an e-mail to creative@davisarts.org or call 801-546-8575.
For more information about the gallery and its current show, please visit www.thedavisarts.org.
jwardell@davisclipper.com
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