Category: BVAA Shows and Events

Celebrate the beauty of the Blackstone Valley in Massachusetts! Our “Local Beauty” community art show is open to ALL forms of art – photography, watercolors, acrylics, oil paintings, pastels, printmaking, sculpture, and more. The topic is our local Blackstone Valley in Massachusetts. We eagerly look forward to seeing local landscapes, architecture, visions, and interpretations of:

Auburn, Blackstone, Douglas, Grafton, Leicester, Mendon, Millbury, Millville, Northbridge, Sutton, Upton, Uxbridge, Webster, and Worcester.

Do you have a photo of Purgatory Chasm in Sutton? A watercolor painting of the Millville canal lock? An abstract interpretation of Worcester City Hall? We’d love to see how you interpret this topic!

This show is FREE to participate in and is open to all community members! You don’t have to live in a listed down to participate. The image itself needs to somehow represent one of those towns.

When:
Feb 28th to April 4th, 2026

Where:
BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569

There is a TON of free parking immediately next to this building. It is fully and easily handicapped accessible.

BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Art Gallery Information

Participation is open to the public. Each participant may exhibit up to three pieces of art.

Entering the Show
Artwork can be any size. That being said, please contact us first if you plan on bringing anything over 20″ x 30″ in size. We need to arrange for space for those separately.

All art must be family friendly and properly wired for hanging. Our hanging system does not work with saw-tooth or triangle hangers. 3M stick-on hangers are notorious for falling off – please don’t use those. If you are new to preparing photography for shows, read our page on How to Mat and Frame a Photo. Please also check out our Show Terms and Conditions

All art which is entered is displayed. There is no “pre-selection” process where some are accepted and others are rejected. If you submit artwork, and it is family-friendly and wired properly, it will be part of our show. You can have your art listed with a price for sale, or you can have it Not For Sale if you wish.

Submissions
To submit your entries use our BVAA Online Submission Form. The deadline to submit the online label information is midnight on Saturday, February 28th, 2026. Work must be dropped off on Saturday, February 28th, 2026 between 10am and 3pm. Please only bring artwork in on Saturday – the staff in the location during the week do not handle artwork processing. All artwork which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly).

Please indicate on your label which town each image represents. We’ll be using that information to create our town-specific slideshows, explained below.

Judging
This show will be a community choice voting. Every person can vote for a first, second, and third place. Winners will be announced at the reception.

Video Slideshows

In addition to the in-gallery experience and the traditional full show video walkthrough, we will also do town-specific slideshows as part of this project. We’ll create a slideshow of the images representing Uxbridge, the images representing Grafton, and so on. That way people who are interested in art from a particular town can easily find it.

Reception
The reception for this show will be on Friday, April 3rd, 2026 from 5-7pm. Prizes are usually awarded around 6pm. Winners will receive ribbons and certificates.

Pick Up
Pickup of the art is on Saturday, April 4th, 2026, from 10am to 3pm. If you aren’t able to make this date, please contact us for other arrangements. Please do not stop by the gallery during the week to pick up art – the weekly staff are not able to process the art items.

Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information

Ask with any questions! We look forward to seeing your entries!

To get inspired, here is our Local Beauty show from 2024!

This Uxbridge gallery is supported in part by BVAA member dues, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and by ValleyCAST. The space use is kindly donated to us by ValleyCAST, the community outreach department of Open Sky Community Services. Open Sky uses this space for special-needs client activities during daytime weekdays. They allow the BVAA use of the space – and its gallery walls – on evenings and weekends. We actively support their inclusive mission. All are welcome to all of our events and activities!

The Blackstone Valley Art Association is sponsoring the 14th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – this show is open to the public! Prints from all styles of digital cameras, film cameras, cellphone cameras, point-and-shoots, SLRs, cyanotypes, and other photo-related artwork are warmly welcome!

When:
January 3rd to February 28th, 2026

Where:
BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569

There is a TON of free parking immediately next to this building. It is fully and easily handicapped accessible.

BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Art Gallery Information

Participation is open to the public. Each participant may exhibit up to two photos. These will be judged for cash prizes.

Entering the Show
The entry fee for the main show, open to all styles of photography, is $15/2 pieces for BVAA members and $20/2 pieces for non-members. The theme is wide open. You can submit a portrait, landscape, still life, abstract, seascape, you name it. Your imagination is the limit.

Photos can be any size. That being said, please contact us first if you plan on bringing anything over 20″ x 30″ in size. We need to arrange for space for those separately.

All photography must be family friendly and properly wired for hanging. Our hanging system does not work with saw-tooth or triangle hangers. 3M stick-on hangers are notorious for falling off – please don’t use those. If you are new to preparing photography for shows, read our page on How to Mat and Frame a Photo. Please also check out our Show Terms and Conditions

All photos which are entered are hung. There is no “pre-selection” process where some are accepted and others are rejected. If you submit artwork, and it is family-friendly and wired properly, it will be part of our show. You can have your photo listed with a price for sale, or you can have it Not For Sale if you wish.

Submissions
To submit your entries use our BVAA Online Submission Form. The deadline to submit the online label information is midnight on Saturday, January 3rd, 2026. Work must be dropped off on Saturday, January 3rd, 2026 between 10am and 3pm. Please only bring artwork in on Saturday – the staff in the location during the week do not handle artwork processing. All artwork which is brought in will be hung (as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly).

If your submission features an unusual technique, for example you’re using a medium-format film camera or another unusual setup, please add notes in the submission form. We’d love to put those details onto the label. Our show visitors love to learn about unusual styles of photography.

We will arrange and label the show on Wednesday January 7th, 2026 from 5-7pm.

Judging
The judge for this show will be announced at the reception. We generally do not announce the name of the judge before drop-off so that artists enter their best images overall, without attempting to ‘target’ a specific judge.

Prize money is based on the number of entries, since the prize money comes from those entry fees. So we won’t know, until all the artwork is in, how much money we have to distribute as prizes. Generally we award first, second, third, and three honorable mentions, depending on the number of entries.

Opening Reception
The opening reception for this show will be on Friday, January 9th, 2026 from 5-7pm. Prizes are usually awarded around 6pm.

Pick Up
Pickup of the art is on Saturday, February 28th, 2026, from 10am to 3pm. If you aren’t able to make this date, please contact us for other arrangements. Please do not stop by the gallery during the week – the weekday staff are not able to process the art items.

Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information

Ask with any questions! We look forward to seeing your entries!

You can see what the Anything Goes photography show is like by looking through previous show details and videos:

13th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2025

12th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2024
11th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2023
10th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2022
9th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2021
8th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2020
7th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2019
6th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2018
5th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2017
4th Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2016
3rd Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2015
2nd Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2014
1st Annual Anything Goes Photography Show – 2013

This Uxbridge gallery is supported in part by BVAA member dues, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and by ValleyCAST. The space use is kindly donated to us by ValleyCAST, the community outreach department of Open Sky Community Services. Open Sky uses this space for special-needs client activities during daytime weekdays. They allow the BVAA use of the space – and its gallery walls – on evenings and weekends. We actively support their inclusive mission. All are welcome to all of our events and activities!

If you’re interested in painting, drawing, and illustrating, we have the perfect Saturday lined up! It’ll be a great time with laughter, conversation, creativity, and the space to stretch out! It’s all FREE!

This is also Uxbridge First Night celebrations! At 4:30pm the parade starts by Kapi’s Pub on Route 122, heads south, and it ends right at our gallery.

There is music, food, crafts, and much, much more.

There’s even fireworks at 6pm! Come out and enjoy the day!

FREE CARICATURE

Talented caricature artist Tim Snow will be creating art on demand. Note THERE IS ALWAYS A LINE for this. Come early to reserve your spot. We will mark the order of requests on a board and give you an estimate of when Tim will get to you. If you come late, it might be that his list is full for the evening. Tim is *done* at 7pm :).

Open Paint 10am-7pm
For the entire day, it’s an open paint! All are welcome, including the public, family, and friends! It’s free! We have watercolors, crayons, and colored pencils on hand, or bring your own if you wish.

If the weather is nice out, visitors can also embark on an Uxbridge sketch walk. We have the maps all ready.

When:
Saturday, December 6th, 2025
10am – 7pm

Where:
BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Art Gallery
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569

Our Saturdays at the gallery include an open paint session where all styles of art are warmly welcome. Whether you’re 12 or 102, whether you’re a new beginner or a seasoned artist, we would love to have you. It’s completely free to participate in the open paint. You can bring your own paints or we’ll have watercolors and brushes to share.

There is a TON of free parking immediately next to this building. It is fully and easily handicapped accessible.

BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Art Gallery Information

Feel free to show up for some or all of the day to paint. Some come for just the morning, some for the afternoon, and some for the entire time. There are several options on the same block to grab lunch if you’d like. We also bring in a pizza and those who want slices chip in a few dollars.

Our Saturday events are free, casual, relaxed, and fun! All levels are welcome.

Ask with any questions – we’d love to have you join us!

This Uxbridge gallery is supported in part by BVAA member dues, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and by ValleyCAST. The space use is kindly donated to us by Open Sky Community Services. Open Sky uses this space for client activities during weekdays. They allow the BVAA use of the space – and its gallery walls – on evenings and weekends.

Uxbridge First Night information:

https://www.facebook.com/uxbridgefirstholidaynight

It’s that time of year! The time to celebrate!

Our BVAA Members Annual Holiday Party for 2025 will be held on Tuesday, December 16th, 2025, from 6-9pm. We’ll start from 6:00-6:30pm with our discussion of the BVAA’s past and upcoming events. Then we transition into the party time. This event is for active BVAA members.

Our party will be held, as in the past few years, at the Grille 122 in Whitinsville. We will meet in a private room so we can talk, laugh, and have fun!

Location
Grille 122
91 Providence Road (Route 122)
Whitinsville MA 01588
Grille122.com

The room will be set up with round tables so that groups can easily talk with each other, as well as mingle amongst tables. There will be separate checks, so each person can order whatever they want off the menu, as frugal or extravagant as they wish.

Each person can bring one guest.

Please RSVP to us to let us know if you’ll be able to attend. That way we can have the restaurant plan for the number of tables needed.

Yankee Swap
Our BVAA Holiday Parties feature a fun Yankee Swap gift exchange. You can participate or not participate as you wish. If you’d like to join in this fun project, bring a gift-wrapped gift of $15 or less in value.

How it works: We put all the wrapped gifts in a pile. We hand out numbers so every person gets a number. Whoever is number 1 chooses a gift, unwraps it, and shows it to the group. Person 2 then unwraps a gift and shows it to the group. Person 2 can keep the gift they chose or swap it with anybody else who has a gift out. It keeps going until the end, at which point person 1 can choose anything they want. It’s a lot of fun :).

We look forward to seeing everyone!

Join us at ValleyCAST every month for a fun, FREE, and creative art workshop! Our December 2025 workshop is all about decorations! We will be painting and drawing inspiring designs on wood ornaments. They’ll be delightful for decoration and gift-giving. The workshop is led by the talented Laura Cenedella!

Wednesday, December 10th, 2025
10am-11am and 1pm-2pm

Located at:
The Singh Performance Center
First Floor Maker’s Space
60 Douglas Road, Whitinsville, MA 

Date: 
Wednesday, December 10th

Two Sessions Available!
Morning: 10am – 11am 
Afternoon: 1pm – 2pm

Two sessions are available to attend, so you can choose the time that works best for you!

All supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring additional materials if you have a specific vision in mind.  We’ll have samples on hand to provide inspiration. All ages and abilities are encourage to participate! FREE!

About Laura Cenedella
When I was in school, my favorite time of day was when I was allowed to draw and paint. As I got older, this love never faded and eventually I went on to study art.  I use many different mediums, such as oil, acrylics, watercolor, pastels and photography. I believe that working in a single medium is restrictive to my artistic process. Each idea manifests in its own individual style.

Laura Cenedella Website

Nearly every type of artist has to pay attention to perspective! What is 1 point perspective? 2 point? 3 point? How do you use perspective (or break the rules) to make your artwork shine?

Join us with talented artist Eric Rasmussen for a FREE hands-on practice and tutorial on working with perspective! All are welcome! Non-members welcome!

Location:
BVAA Open Sky Uxbridge Community Gallery
5 South Main Street
Uxbridge, MA 01569

When:
Tuesday November 18th 2025
6:30-9pm

This meeting and session is free and open to the public. No experience is necessary. The fun of our workshops is that we all learn new things we’ve never done before.

Our meetings cover BVAA organization business from 6:30-7:00pm and then go into the workshop part of the evening. Feel free to come for whichever half interests you the most. In general, our monthly meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month unless otherwise announced.

All are welcome – this workshop is open to members and non-members. Feel free to bring along a friend! We’d love to see you there to learn some new things and explore your creativity!

If you’d like to bring supplies, we’ll be using:

Smooth drawing paper medium to large size
#2 Pencils, soft graphite pencil (ebony)
Vinyl eraser
Ruler preferably 18″ or larger 
Triangle 📐 

If you don’t have supplies that’s fine – we’ll have some to borrow!

Eric Rasmussen’s website is here:

https://www.instagram.com/funyhedbatik

Eric Rasmussen teaches art classes at the Worcester Art Museum:

https://www.worcesterart.org/learning/classes/adult-classes/fall-session/

Ask with any questions!

Want to learn more about taking lovely photos? Join us on Friday November 21st 2025 from 1-3pm for our photography workshop at the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill! All levels of photographers warmly encouraged to participate. This event is open to the public.

NOTE THE UPDATED TIME! 1-3pm! We have a BVAA reception in Uxbridge at 5pm so I need to make it back in time to get ready for that.

The cost of the photography workshop is $5 each.

Note that because we are holding this month’s workshop at the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, YOU MUST SEPARATELY PAY AN ENTRANCE FEE TO THE NEBG. That entrance fee is $20. You can find discount or free tickets at many local libraries. Check with your libraries to find an inexpensive way to get into the gardens. If you are a individual served by Open Sky, talk with Open Sky about being sponsored for this event. You pay that entry fee directly to the NEBG when you arrive.

We will meet at the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, past the entry gates, by the turtle fountain at 1pm. Photographer Lisa Shea will provide a brief introductory discussion of ideas for taking photos in an outdoor setting. Then we will explore the gardens from 1-3pm. You can roam on your own, stay with the group, and ask questions whenever you wish. Feel free to come early or stay late!

Location:
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill
11 French Drive
Boylston, MA
https://nebg.org/

Date and Time:
Friday November 21st, 2025
1-3pm

Please be sure to RSVP to join the group. Let Lisa know what type of cellphone or camera you plan on bringing. Lisa can then send you a PDF of ideas to get you started. If you don’t have access to any cellphone or camera, we have a few we would be able to lend for the afternoon.

Register for Photo Workshop

Let us know if you have any questions! And please make sure you research your New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill tickets beforehand. That way you can get discount tickets from your local library or from Open Sky (if applicable) to save on your entrance fee.

Whether you participate in the field trip or not, please consider then sending in a few of your Beautiful Skies photos to participate in the free ValleyCAST virtual art show. This show has a deadline of Sunday, November 30th, 2025!

https://www.openskycs.org/news-events/events/november-monthly-art-challenge

Supported by the BVAA, ValleyCAST, and Open Sky.

…

Join us at ValleyCAST every month for a fun, FREE, and creative art workshop! Our November 2025 workshop is on the theme of Gratitude – perfect for Thanksgiving! We will be painting and drawing inspiring designs on rocks. They’ll be delightful for decoration and gift-giving. The workshop is led by the talented Laura Cenedella!

NOTE! SPECIAL ENCORE WORKSHOP Wed Nov 26th at BVAA Uxbridge Art Gallery from 12:30-2pm in case you missed the below events!! All are welcome, free!

…

original events:

Wednesday, November 12, 2025
10am-11am and 1pm-2pm

Located at:
The Singh Performance Center
First Floor Maker’s Space
60 Douglas Road, Whitinsville, MA 

Date: 
Wednesday, November 12

Two Sessions Available!
Morning: 10am – 11am 
Afternoon: 1pm – 2pm

Two sessions are available to attend, so you can choose the time that works best for you!

All supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring additional materials if you have a specific vision in mind.  We’ll have samples on hand to provide inspiration. All ages and abilities are encourage to participate! FREE!

About Laura Cenedella
When I was in school, my favorite time of day was when I was allowed to draw and paint. As I got older, this love never faded and eventually I went on to study art.  I use many different mediums, such as oil, acrylics, watercolor, pastels and photography. I believe that working in a single medium is restrictive to my artistic process. Each idea manifests in its own individual style.

Laura Cenedella Website

Our 11th annual Macabre art show is all about images which are creepy, spooky, and a little unsettling!

The artists participating in 2025 are: Bob Evans . Carol Frieswick . Carole Plante . Evan Plante . Judy Murphy . Laura Cenedella . Linda DeFeudis . Lisa Shea . Mike Zeis . Tina Dobberpuhl . Bob See

Click on an image to see it in a larger size. Most of these prints are available for sale – contact us for information.

Here’s the video version!

Here’s the full details about this annual virtual show:

11th Annual BVAA Macabre Spooky Art Show – 2025