Noyes Art Gallery hosting Art in the Garden at Lincoln’s Sunken Gardens

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - If you like local art, you’ll definitely want to check out an upcoming event at Lincoln’s Sunken Gardens.

Art in the Garden is a time for local artists to connect with the community. Dana Clements is one of the artists who will show her work at the event. “I am mostly an acrylic painter,” Clements said. “Many of the bright colors you see on my pieces are acrylic paint. I also use something called alcohol ink in the background which gives it sort of a water-color effect.”

While Dana’s art can always be found at Noyes Art Gallery in Lincoln, she is excited to showcase it, along with many other artists, at Art in the Garden on Sept. 9. “It’s our biggest event we do every year, and it’s my favorite event we do every year,” Clements said. “We have a whole bunch of artists come down to the Sunken Gardens. They will set up their art in tents or tables, and people can come and enjoy the flowers and enjoy the art. We will also have dancers, musicians and food trucks.”

Julie Craw is a local artist excited about Art in the Garden. “I do stained glass,” Craw said. “And I love doing stained glass, because the way the light plays with the glass is just so much fun. It changes the textures and the colors throughout the day. The piece of art you look at is different in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening.” Craw has been showing art at the Noyes Art Gallery for 15 years now, but says Art in the Garden helps make her art accessible to everyone. The all-day event is free and open to the public. It brings together people of all backgrounds. Acrylic painter Eden Elder says it’s a chance to interact with potential customers. “You get to meet artists,” Elder said. “When you go to a gallery you just see the art on the walls. You don’t meet the faces behind them. That’s really important to interact, talk, and see the face behind the work.”

As you can imagine, it takes plenty of planning and volunteers to make the event work, and volunteers are always needed. “We are really dependent on volunteers,” Sandie Caradori said. “They help with set-up, the crossing guard issues, they help bring water to the artists, give them restroom breaks, and greet the patrons as they come in.”

As it turns out, getting to the event is pretty easy. “The zoo has been very kind and is offering to let our patrons park in their parking lot,” Clements said. “So, you can park across the street, or you can park in the near south neighborhood over by the gardens. It’s a great opportunity to share about what makes art important, about why we love art, and it’s also a great opportunity to see the gardens here, which I think of as an art piece as well.”

Sponsors make it possible. “We want to give a big thank you to First Interstate Bank, Ameritas, Parks and Rec, as well as Party in the Parks,” Clements said. Noyes Art Gallery that puts on the event is marking a couple of milestones this year. “Not only is this the 11th annual Art in the Garden, but it’s the gallery’s 30th anniversary, so we have been at that location for 30 years,” Clements said.

The public is invited to enjoy Art in the Garden on Sept. 9, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s a chance to immerse yourself in the local art scene, and just take a stroll through the amazing Sunken Gardens of Lincoln, to experience all this popular tourism attraction has to offer.

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