Trinity's Community Gallery and Parkside Cafe
September Gallery Exhibit
The September exhibit in the Trinity Community Gallery will feature the photographs of Denise Evans. Denise has enjoyed photography as a hobby since taking a photography class in high school. Her photographs tend to focus on Nature. Animals, flowers, insects, and some landscapes. A flower with an insect is her absolute favorite thing to capture.
Gallery Information
The gallery is open Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and weekdays by appointment. Call the church office at 413-737-5311 to schedule a weekday appointment.
Artists for the 2023 - 2024 season:
SEPTEMBER – Denise Evans
OCTOBER – Scantic Valley Artisans
NOVEMBER – Jim Gillen
DECEMBER – Alison Johnson
JANUARY – Porn Simphanoum (Lesn101)
FEBRUARY – Boland Elementary School students
MARCH – Central High School Art Department
APRIL – Chris Jennison
MAY – Connie Moore
JUNE – Gel print class exhibit
Exciting New Gallery Opportunity--Gel Printing Classes
Do you like making art, looking at art, or hanging out with people who like making or looking at art? Trinity’s Community Gallery will be hosting a series of workshops with Mariela Chavez ( https://madeofseaandstars.com), a local artist and advocate. She will be teaching people how to use a gel plate to make unique, one-of-a-kind monoprints. Gel plates feel kind of like firm gelatin. Using a roller, you can apply paint to the plate, smooth a paper on top of it, and “pull a print.” It’s a really fun, sometimes messy, art form that is easy to learn but offers countless variations and techniques.
While we hope to make this a monthly event, we’re starting out with 2 classes at the end of the year to gauge interest:
Friday, November 3rd, 5:30-7:30pm- using an autumn palette, we’ll make prints that can be used to make a “gratitude journal”.
Saturday, December 1st, 9:30-11:30am- using winter/Christmas colors, we’ll make prints that could be used for cards, gift labels, or stand- alone artwork.
The class is limited to 11 people and recommended for ages 12+. To pay for Mari’s time, the cost is $20 per person but if you’re not able to pay the full amount a sliding-scale can be offered. All supplies (paint, paper, stencils, gel plates and rollers) are included.
To register or for more info, please contact Nicole B
History of the Community Gallery and Parkside Cafe
In June 2021, Trinity Church was awarded a grant from the United Methodist Foundation of New England for the Trinity Community Gallery and Cafe. The foundation awards grants "to help fund strategic, vital, and creative ministries of organizations and faith communities of the New England Annual Conference."
Former Trinity pastor Rev. Perez, Andrea Rust and Vera Baker developed a proposal to re-purpose two under-utilized and accessible spaces to better serve the community. In the proposal, they reflected on the church's founders' vision to design a "Community Cathedral where everyone could come to learn, to grow, to be enriched, and to draw closer to God." The gallery was seen as a place for showcasing the talents of local artists, and the cafe was presented as an open space for the community and congregation to gather and build connections. Together the two spaces are designed to engage the surrounding Forest Park community through art and other programming.
Although Springfield boasts a number of cultural and educational organizations, there are few in this section of the city. Springfield residents spent far too much time in isolation during the pandemic and we see this "third space" serving as an anchor for community life. Our community needs a safe place of deep personal connections, community building, and creative sharing.
Trinity Community Gallery supports the art of local artists and Springfield Public School students.
The cafe is currently a meeting place for fellowship hour on Sunday mornings with a vision of opening more days/hours to the public in the future. Locally roasted coffee by Monsoon Roasters in Springfield is freshly ground in the Trinity kitchen, and tea from Tea Guys in Whately MA is offered.
Expansion plans are contingent on congregation and community support and involvement. Anyone interested in helping the gallery and cafe to grow and serve the wider community is asked to speak with Andrea or Vera or e-mail gallery-cafe@trinityspringfield.org.
Images of Denise Evans' September exhibit.
