“The Whittier Art Association would like to express its appreciation to the City of Whittier for acknowledging the Gallery’s continuous service and dedication to the arts and artists in the community.” – The Whittier Art Association

Whittier City Hall held a reception on Oct. 14 in honor of “Celebrate,” the current ongoing art exhibit recognizing the Whittier Art Gallery and its 75 anniversary.

The reception was free and open to the public from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at City Hall, located on Painter Avenue and Penn Street.

Guests who attended the event had an opportunity to meet with people who are involved with the Whittier Art Association. It also gave the public a chance to learn more about the Whittier Art Gallery and gain more insight about its exhibition.

The “Celebrate” exhibition will be on display at Whittier City Hall throughout the month of October where there are a few paintings, pictures, and ceramics available for viewing.

The Whittier City Hall hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Whittier Art Gallery itself also held a special “night hours” reception on Oct. 14 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Gallery hours are normally during the day, however on this special day they had night hours available for the public.

The reception was held in honor of the gallery’s celebration of 75 years, the artists currently displaying their work in the gallery, and thanking the artists who have contributed to the gallery.

Artists featured in the exhibition included Wendy DeLeon, Lisa Ruiz, and Veronica Kortz, who all had paintings in honor of the galleries anniversary.

The paintings were the artist’s perceptions of the art gallery through their eyes and were all colorful, playful, and lively filled with joy.

Carol Neiffeder, an artist whose pieces are currently on display at City Hall, attended Rio Hondo College in the 1970’s.

She said, “Out of all of my schooling, Rio Hondo was the best education I ever had. The classes were small and the professors were one on one with me.”

Neiffeder says she has progressed tremendously from Rio Hondo up until now, and is delighted to show her beautiful art work at the gallery.

This just goes to show that the gallery is a hidden gem and a very historic piece of Whittier. The gallery also holds new monthly art exhibitions as well as art classes, which are all free and available to the public.

For more information about the gallery and its next events, visit http://www.whittierartgallery.org/.