Nov 5

Nov 5 smART Kinston hosts Holiday open house

Photo by Janet Sutton / Neuse News

By Janet Sutton

Art has a special place in Kinston, several places in fact, and now smART Kinston artists have an additional home to exhibit their bold paintings, metal sculptures and hand crafted visuals inside the smART Gallery at 210 N. Queen Street.

The smART Gallery is a compilation of art from artists in the smART Kinston program and others looking for an outlet to share their creative talents.

There are more than 20 artists taking advantage of the smART Kinston program, which is funded by the Educational Foundation of America, the Kinston-Lenoir County Tourism Development Authority and other organizations. The project partners with the Community Council for the Arts, the NC Arts Council and residents as they grow the local economy and expand the arts in Lenoir County.

The smART Kinston art and cultural district in the Mitchelltown neighborhood has attracted artists from across the country to reside in the brightly colored pastel houses and home studios, and the opening of the smART Gallery provides even more room to showcase the work of these dedicated individuals.

With crisp white walls and wooden floors, the building exudes a modern atmosphere with statement making art at affordable prices. The gallery’s mission is to offer a broad selection of artistic mediums that fits anyone's budget. These one-of-a-kind pieces can be purchased or even rented from the smART Gallery by day, week, month or year. The gallery will have mini-exhibitions, pottery, lunch and learns, art parties and juried exhibitions among other events and workshops.

"We're always ready to have people come in," Raney Rogers, manager of smART Gallery said. "We have a constant ongoing exhibition per se on the gallery walls."

Almost 2,000 sq ft of space allows them to feature one artist per month, who can bring in as many pieces as they like.

"We encourage other artists to come and look and if they'd like to be a part, they can apply," Rogers said.

One of the smART Kinston artists who submitted work was Shyla Sutton. She's an art educator and multi-media artist, who considers herself an emotional artist and is inspired by current and past experiences. She expresses her art through printmaking and acrylic paintings.

"It's a good feeling, art is meant to be shared," Sutton said.

And Rogers agrees.

"We're just happy to be able to come together for the art scene here in Kinston that is growing and growing and we want to be a big part of that," she said.