 Palette & Palate Stroll patrons admire art exhibits at eight CFADA member galleries, sampling fare from top local restaurants at each one. Last year, Oak served up fava bean tartlets with pickled beech mushrooms mulled in salt and truffle oil (right). Photographs by (left to right) Paige Morse & Alexandria Antonacci July 16, 2014 Walk the Walk This Friday, July 18, some 450 art lovers will take to downtown streets to parade among the eight galleries that claim membership in the Charleston Fine Arts Dealers’ Association (CFADA). At each stop on this Palette & Palate Stroll, special exhibits await, along with wine and delicious fare served up by top Charleston restaurants (Barsa, Circa 1886, Cypress, Halls Chophouse, Langdon’s, McCrady’s, Oak Steakhouse, and Zero Café and Bar). Since 2006, the event has raised some $9,000 annually to benefit art programs at the College of Charleston, Gibbes Museum of Art, and Redux Contemporary Art Center. That means that each year, one CofC studio art student receives a scholarship, while Redux and the Gibbes feed their education programs. “We use the money to purchase supplies and pay teachers and models, creating jobs for local artists while supporting our artistic community,” explains Redux executive director Stacy Huggins. These are precisely the kind of results gallery owners hoped to see when they formed CFADA in 1999. Looking to bolster Charleston’s reputation as a fine art destination, they began hosting more exhibits, sharing expertise through catalogues and publications, and fundraising. In 15 years, they have donated $296,000 to local art education initiatives. “We are blessed to be in the visual arts world that we love and hope that the next generation is as fortunate to find their own passion, wherever that may lie,” says Ella Richardson, owner of CFADA member gallery Ella W. Richardson Fine Art. To snag your tickets ($45) to the Palette & Palate Stroll and get more details on the event, click here or call (843) 819-8006. For more events coming up this weekend, click here. |
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