A New Addition to Final Friday

It was the final Friday last night, which is the occasion of the month Art Loop in Cary, NC, where we live. Final Friday has been enhanced the past few months with the opening of the new Cary Arts Center, which now participates.  But last night, we had not only CAC join in, but also an occasional participant and a brand new art gallery that has opened in downtown Cary.

We started at the Arts Center, which was bustling because the theatre was showing Once Upon a Mattress that night as well.  But the month's exhibit was also interesting; it consists of high-quality photographs of assorted old family heirlooms, accompanied by a short piece written by a poet about the significance of these antiques to the family of the descendants.  It was a great show to discuss with my son and his friend who accompanied us, because it made them consider how many stories there are associated with the things that we value, whether they are utilitarian, sentimental, or actually have monetary worth outside the family.

There is a commercial center along Chatham Street in downtown Cary called Chocolate Smiles after the  candy store of the same name located in that plaza.   They joined in the fun this month by staying up late and offering food and entertainment.  The chocolate store encouraged children to make art from jelly beans:

They served lovely food, including some empanadas and fried plantains from the nearby Cuban restaurant:

and quite a nice blues band that played as we ate and sipped and watched the sun set from the terrace above:

All of the Town of Cary buildings had the same displays as last Final Friday, so we didn't go to those buildings.   But we headed down to the heart of downtown Cary, where what did we discover but....

There is a NEW art gallery that has just opened in downtown Cary!  Apparently, only three days ago...

The gallery is named Emerge Fine Arts, and it is owned by a digital photography artist, assisted by her father and her Chinese Crested Hairless dog, whose name is Sophie:

The art was rather upscale, but very nice, including some wonderful glass, watercolor, and acrylic pieces:

So good luck to Emerge--we hope it is really successful!  It was great to add it to our Final Friday tour.

Of course, we also loved the art in our usual favorite galleries as well--Cary Gallery of Artists, the Russian Gallery, and the more-recently opened Chambers Art.    Lots of lovely pieces to see in all sorts of media, and many of the artists are available on that night to talk about their work.  So it is a great opportunity to enhance your education about contemporary art.