Center Place is excited to see all of its new classes and programs continue to grow in the new year.
“Our street art and cartooning classes with Alejandro Algarin have been growing in number since it started in January,” said Center Place’s executive director, Libby Hopkins. “His street art is unique in the fact that the class consists of kids and adults. It’s great to see kids helping adults and then the adults encouraging the kids if they don’t feel confident taking those first artistic steps.”
Justin White, Center Place’s abstract artist, will be returning to Center Place in March to start teaching his abstract art class he taught over the summer at Center Place. He is now offering this abstract art class to tweens and teens in addition to adults.
“Justin is an amazing artist, and his use of color is phenomenal,” Hopkins said. “We are also excited for Justin to do his first-ever gallery show at Center Place in March.” White’s work will be in the Mook Gallery for the entire month of March. Hopkins encourages the community to come and check out his show.
Artist Night is a monthly, free event that is hosted at Center Place on the first Friday of every month. This event started in September of last year and allows local up-and-coming artists a chance to showcase their talents in a brick-and-mortar setting.
“When we first started this event, it only had eight guests and four artists,” Hopkins said. “Now we are averaging 20-30 guests and we have six local artists in addition to three spoken-word poets. I am so happy this free event is getting bigger and bigger each month. Center Place’s new executive board president, Bernadette Pello of Livingstone Academy, believes in Artist Night as much as I do, so she is helping me make it bigger and better each month.”
Center Place had huge success with its first Drag Queen Bingo back in October of last year, so now Hopkins and Pello are planning the center’s next bingo fundraiser for Thursday, March 24 and it’s going to be a Designer Purse Bingo.
“I’m thrilled that Bernadette and Livingstone Academy are the presenting sponsors of Center Place’s first Designer Purse Bingo,” Hopkins said. “We are working on having a variety of designer purses, like Marc Jacobs, Coach, Kate Spade and many more, at the bingo.”
Tickets are $60 and include bingo cards, wine and food. Keep an eye out on Center Place’s website at www.centerplacebrandon.com for tickets to the Designer Purse Bingo.
Center Place is located at 619 Vonderburg Dr., Ste. B inside the Brandon Regional Library.
