Roosevelt Island's Gallery RIVAA Celebrates 15th Anniversary With Opening Reception For Vernissage XV Exhibition - You Can Be A Member Too

Roosevelt Island's Gallery RIVAA held an opening reception Saturday March 5 for it's current exhibition, Vernissage XV, to celebrate 15 years serving the Roosevelt Island community.

Friends and neighbors

gathered together at Gallery RIVAA

to view

the art

and enjoy

each other's company.

I spoke with Roosevelt Island resident Jan Fund at the Vernissage XV exhibit. Ms Fund says the art exhibit is fabulous and encourages everyone to support Gallery RIVAA.



According to Gallery RIVAA:

The Roosevelt Island Visual Art Assoc.is a non-profit organization comprised of an internationally diverse group of artists. RIVAA opened the first gallery on Roosevelt Island in March 2002 and is dedicated to elevating the quality of life in the community through art, music, poetry, dance, events and workshops.

Gallery RIVAA explains how you can become a member:

Membership is open to Roosevelt Island residents. Anyone interested is welcome to bring a representative sampling of their work (or computer images or photos) to one of our bimonthly meetings. Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of every month at 8 PM at Gallery RIVAA 527 Main Street.

After talking to the potential new member about their work and background the current membership will vote at the meeting on whether to admit that person as a member.

Once admitted the new member pays a one time admission fee plus yearly dues of $220. This enables them to participate in all members group exhibitions held at Gallery RIVAA. After one year the new members are eligible for a solo exhibition based on availability in the schedule.

For non resident artists and non artists wishing to join RIVAA in order to help the gallery there is an Associate Member category. There is no fee to become an Associate Member and there are no yearly dues. Associate Member artists pay a donation to RIVAA for work they choose to exhibit each time they participate in an exhibition.

For Roosevelt Island residents between the ages of 13 and 18 there is the Junior Membership category. This is open to young artists living on the Island who would like to exhibit their artwork at Gallery RIVAA. There are membership dues in this category but they are lower than those dues paid by adult members.

RIVAA aims for diversity in its membership and welcomes people of all ages and cultural backgrounds.

The exhibitions are free and the gallery is accessible to the elderly and it is also wheelchair accessible.

Gallery RIVAA's Tad Sudol, Consul General of Poland Urszula Gacek, Cornell Tech's Jane Swanson and  Elisabeth Stapen spoke to those attending the Vernissage XV reception. Here's what they said.



Take a walk around the Vernissage XV opening reception



celebrating 15 years of Gallery RIVAA on Roosevelt Island.

More information about Gallery RIVAA at their web site.