Uniontown Art Club to paint, display works during Founding Day Festival
Mark Hofmann | Herald-Standard
Pete Pasqua, president of the Uniontown Art Club, displays a hand-carved wooden mantle for sale at the club’s Gallery 86 in Uniontown. The club will offer displays on Saturday, July 2, during the Founding Day Festival.
Mark Hofmann | Herald-Standard
Audrey Hawker Cottle, vice president of the Uniontown Art Club, looks over her crafts displayed and for sale at the club’s Gallery 86 in Uniontown.
Mark Hofmann | Herald-Standard
Mark Hofmann | Herald-Standard
Uniontown Art Club’s Gallery 86, located at 86 W. Main St. offers offers members’ creations for sale.
The Uniontown Art Club and Gallery 86 will be on full display in Storey Square on Saturday, July 2, during the Herald-Standard’s Founding Day Festival.
“We’ll have about 25 members displaying their work at the (festival). We’re going to provide a lot of space so people can move around and really have a chance to see what’s on display and talk to each artist,” said Pete Pasqua, longtime club officer.
The show will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Since its inception nearly a century ago, the club has been a partner with the city of Uniontown.
“We’re 95 years old and still going strong,” Pasqua said. “Since 1927, we have been promoting and generating the appreciation of visual arts in the community. Our club has been a good member of this community and has worked hand-in-hand with other groups to enhance Uniontown and the community.”
Each Thursday at 12:15 p.m., the club hosts an online auction on its Uniontown Art Club Facebook page, and they’re always eager to display new works.
“We’re looking for more artists to join the club,” said Pasqua. “Our membership reaches out beyond Uniontown. We feel we’re providing the community with really good art.”
He added that face-to-face meetings, which were stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, made it tough on the club. It was forced to evolve with its online platforms.
The club remodeled its 86 W. Main Street, Uniontown gallery space and supported local artists with virtual art shows.
Pasqua said he hopes having endured the pandemic rekindled new hobbies for residents.
Visual art and other creative hobbies gained attention during the pandemic and that was evident in the increase online and social media traffic.
Pasqua said members hope the renewed interest in art will lead to more people coming through their doors when their events return and when classes start.
“Our membership is increasing,” he said. “More people are returning to hobbies they had in their younger days during the pandemic.
Pasqua said Gallery 86 was closed for about two months, which gave the club time to recreate its gallery and showroom. But, he said, very few people visited when they reopened.
“We opened back up in May, but everyone was panic stricken. We were basically standing in here looking at the walls,” he said.
Pasqua said their supporters have missed out on interacting in person. People previously enjoyed chatting with artists at shows and meeting them directly, which was not possible during the pandemic. They often had visitors from Pittsburgh come to their events to meet their local artists.
“We’ve missed that interaction, because many of our artists have a following,” he said. “We’re looking for our artists to get and during the festival and interact with people and actually get to talk with them about their work.”