White Plains Tradition Continues with Woman’s Club 63rd Annual Art Exhibition
A decade’s long tradition continued on Oct. 22 through 24 with the 63rd annual Beaux Arts Show presented by the Woman’s Club of White Plains.
The club was packed with attendees on Oct. 24 for the final day of the event, which featured the closing reception and presentation of awards.
Attendees had several types of art to view last week. On display were oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings, graphics, mixed media, photography, digital art and sculpture.
Purchase resident Barbara Dannenberg, chairman of the Women’s Club Art Exhibition Committee, said last week, the White Plains exhibit is part of the Federation of Women’s Clubs of Westchester County, which is made up of about two dozen clubs. Dannenberg said unfortunately there were only three arts shows scheduled for the area this year, which was less than in the past.
Dannenberg explained why the White Plains event has been so successful for more than six decades. “We have many members in our Woman’s Club who really believe in this event,” she said, noting the Art Exhibition Committee consisted of about 20 members. Another key to the success of the event is the club’s staying in touch and reaching out to artists, she said, adding the show was open to any artist who lives in Westchester County and is 18 older.
White Plains resident Bonnie Ackerman, art exhibit placement coordinator for the event, said art is both part of her work with the Woman’s Club and her profession. “I install art shows in galleries in New York, in galleries in Westchester and sometimes in Greenwich,” she said. “I lay it all out and decide what goes where.”
Volunteers assisted her in laying out the 172 artworks displayed in last week’s show, Ackerman said.
Ackerman explained why the White Plains exhibit has been so popular. “We have so many beautiful artists here in Westchester,” she said. The Woman’s Club of White Plains grand ballroom has “wonderful, beautiful walls” making it a place where artwork “explodes with color,” Ackerman said. Another reason for the success of the show is the work of the Art Exhibition Committee, she said. “That team is undeniably so incredible. They’re so accurate and so careful.”
Two mixed media and one photo created by Ackerman were part of the exhibit.
Providing piano music at the event were students from the Studio Center Senakwami in Manhattan. The school’s owner, Harrison resident John Senakwami, said his students, who have been performing at the exhibition for the past five years look forward to participating every year. The exhibit has been so popular because typically, “to see anything like this” you have to travel to New York City, he said. “They should do it more often (in Westchester).”
