celebrating 10 years of exposing local artwork

More than 300 pieces of artwork created by more than 75 area artists will be on display this weekend in a 10,000-square-foot factory space converted into a temporary gallery in downtown Amesbury, Mass. The weekend exhibition celebrates the 10th anniversary of The Provident Bank’s Lobby for the Arts program, which began at the bank’s Amesbury headquarters in 1997.

Over the last decade, The Provident Bank has featured the work of more than 90 different artists at its branches in Amesbury, Newburyport, Portsmouth and Seabrook. All of those artists were invited to participate in the three-day retrospective art show this weekend, and most of them have submitted several pieces, including 12 artists from Portsmouth, according to Julie Ganong, Provident’s senior vice president of communications. Oils, watercolors, acrylics, photographs, pencil drawings and mixed media pieces will be on display and available for sale.

When the Lobby for the Arts program began in 1997, there were no art galleries in Amesbury. There are now a total of nine, and the Amesbury Cultural Council will host its 11th annual Artists’ Studio Tour in November. The Provident Bank initiated Lobby for the Arts as a way of supporting Amesbury’s first Artists’ Studio Tour, and has since expanded to other bank locations in Newburyport and southern New Hampshire.

Each bank branch features the work of a different local artist for eight-week exhibitions. The work of North Hampton photographer Terri Ellen Donsker is currently on display in the Portsmouth branch, located at 21 Daniel St. in Market Square. Donsker will also have work on display in the 10-year celebration.

Lobby for the Arts spread to Portsmouth and Seabrook when Provident locations opened up in each community in 2005. The first Seabrook exhibition featured the work of watercolorist Doris Rice, and Portsmouth began with a group of six artists led by Kate Doyle. The bank prides itself on offering alternative art spaces, exposing local artwork to customers who might not normally enter a gallery. Featured artists have included high school students who publicly showed their work for the first time at one of the bank branches.

The celebration begins with a private reception at 21 Water St., mill building #2, in Amesbury on Thursday, Sept. 27. Members of the public are invited to attend an opening reception on Friday night, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. A community open house will follow on Saturday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, visit www.theprovidentbank.com or call Ganong at 978-834-8587.