Gallery 57 West Opens
Annapolis Arts Alliance Finds Permanent Gallery Home
After years of successful pop-up art shows, The Annapolis Art Alliance can now call downtown Annapolis home for good. The nonprofit collective artist group will open the doors at the former Whitehall Gallery August 1.
“When we heard that Whitehall Gallery was closing, we jumped at the opportunity to go into that space since it’s in the center of the Annapolis Arts District,” says artist Dale Hall.
Hall recognizes the challenge in opening a business during a pandemic. “We know it’s risky, but since Dining Under the Stars is happening five nights a week and the First Sunday Arts Festival is on that street, that it would be an ideal spot for us,” Hall says.
Renovated and renamed Gallery 57 West, the space will showcase what the alliance calls “a fusion of the arts.” AAA members will display paintings in all media, photography, jewelry, sculpture, glass work, pottery, textiles, mixed media, maps, and collages at all price points.
“It reminds me of an indoor arts festival in a totally renovated gallery setting,” Hall says.
For five years the Alliance has opened seasonal pop-up shops. “The Alliance had been doing pop-up shops just in November and December until last summer,” Hall says. In June of last year, the Alliance used a space at Annapolis Towne Centre in Parole.
“Annapolis Towne Centre thought the Alliance did such a nice job that they asked if we wanted to stay for a while,” Hall says. “We ended up staying through July and then returned from September through December for a fall pop-up followed by a holiday pop-up. They were so well received that it made sense to look for something year-round.”
The gallery is located at 57 West Street in Annapolis and will be open Wednesday through Monday from 11am-7pm, starting August 1 (https://annapolis-arts-alliance.com/).