HAAI's Pre-Opening Party

Last Sunday, December 12, the Howard Avenue Art Incubator held it's invitation-only pre-opening party to show off the newly finished (and gorgeous!) 1200sf gallery space, complete with work from local artists. Both the main gallery and the hallway gallery were lined with works ranging from paintings to photographs to sculpture. It was also a great opportunity for us to snap some great photos of our space.

View from the window side of the gallery

Some of the wonderful sculpture pieces

Gary, founder of HAAI with some gallery patrons

The hallway gallery

To get a better sense of the space of the gallery, check out this short video we took:

Overall, the party was a huge success! We're excited about the space and can't wait to host some public events.

First Artist Potluck!

Progress is definitely being made here at HAAI. The gallery has paint on the walls and is wired for lighting, and membership is gaining momentum! Check out these photos from our November 17th Artist Potluck, the first official activity of the Howard Ave. Arts Incubator!

The outside of the building looked fantastic with Gobo lighting. Soon we'll have one especially made for HAAI!

HAAI is under construction!

I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to a new undertaking of Gary's that may be of interest to any of you who are local.  Gary is leading an effort to create an arts community here in Kensington, MD.  By creating the Howard Avenue Arts Incubator, he hopes to foster creative works and community, using art as a catalyst for even more.  There are a lot of interesting prospects with this project and I invite you to take a look at the website and add your name to the email list there.  The plan is to have a kick-off festival December 12th, 2010.

In preparation, there has been a lot of renovation going on at the studio as the downstairs gets a makeover and the newly acquired area upstairs is being rebuilt into a gallery.

This wall is soon to be history.

The wall is gone, as is a good portion of the old floor.

You can't really see them in this picture, but in addition to the new purple tiled floor, we built a couple of great walk-in closets that will really help to declutter!

The newly redone kitchen area is sure to get a lot of use!

Headed up stairs.  Once it's refinished, this wall above the landing will be a great place to display artwork!

Welcome to the third floor.

It's still very much under construction, but you can see that this can become a really great gallery space.  A few of Gary's larger pieces were set up as examples for a meeting this past weekend and we had a local artist in to symbolically hang the first artwork on the wall.

If you're interested in getting involved in classes or gallery exhibitions, or to learn more about all the cool ideas Gary has for this project, give us a call at 301.493.5577!

A New Arts Community in Kensington

The Howard Ave. Arts Incubator is committed to creating a community of visual artists and craftspeople who are dedicated to making art a more vital part of the fabric of Montgomery County and the surrounding region while also working on their own personal development within the arts. The HAAI Center will combine many aspects of the arts—from production to marketing, with a focus on the more professional artist seeking information and training beyond their aesthetic specialities. We will help artists who want to become more successful and help them improve the skill in presenting and selling their work. We will encourage artists to mentor emerging artists and work in schools, and we will meet regularly as a community to support one another. The Center will have a co-op gallery, a working mixed media crafts studio that will be available for studio rentals and classes ( including welding shops, fused glass operation, silk screen facilities, laser etching capabilities and a 2,000 square foot machine shop). There will be classroom space and meeting areas suitable for wet classes or fundraisers for non-profit organizations as needed. The goal of the Center is to create synergy based on the collaboration of those interested in the arts. We will help each other learn more about our crafts and we will also help others who are interested in the arts and the community beyond our own members.