Category: BVAA Shows and Events

The Blackstone Valley Art Association is sponsoring our annual members-only Fall Show! This show is open to all active members of the BVAA. Entries can include all forms of artwork on any theme. This show will be judged for cash prizes.

When:
Thursday, August 27th to Thursday, October 22nd, 2026

Where:
ValleyCAST’s Heritage Gallery at the Alternatives Whitin Mill
50 Douglas Road
Whitinsville MA

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

Entering the Show
The theme is wide open. Any topic can be addressed as long as it is family-friendly. This show does NOT have to be about autumn. The show simply happens in the autumn. 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 wall-hanging items must be properly wired for hanging. Our hanging system does not work with saw-tooth or triangle hangers. If you are new to preparing artwork for shows, read our page on How to Mat and Frame a Photo. Please also check out our Show Terms and Conditions. While AI and other artists can be used to generate starting concepts for BVAA show artwork, all final work submitted must be wholly the personal creation of the individual BVAA member.

Submissions
To submit your entries use our BVAA Online Submission Form. The fee to participate is $8/piece or 3 for $20 for members. You can submit up to 3 pieces. As this is a judged show, you cannot enter anything which has been entered into a previous BVAA judged show (that includes shows both BVAA shows at ValleyCAST as well as BVAA shows at the Uxbridge gallery). The deadline to submit the online forms, so we can make our labels, is end of day August 22nd.

Drop Off of Works
Work must be dropped off at the ValleyCAST’s Heritage Gallery at the Alternatives Whitin Mill on Friday August 21st during business hours 10:00am – 4:00pm. If you can’t make that, you have two other options:

1. Lisa Shea will be at the Sunflower Show reception at the Booklovers’ Gourmet that evening Fri Aug 21st from 5-7pm. Come out to enjoy the reception and Lisa can take your art from you there. That’s at 72 E Main St, Webster MA.
2. Lisa will be at the BVAA Uxbridge gallery that Sat Aug 22nd the regular 10am – 3pm hours. You can bring your art by the Uxbridge gallery and Lisa will bring that art all in on Monday morning to ValleyCAST.

All work which is brought in will be hung, as long as it is properly wired and is family-friendly. We do not ‘pre-select’ art for the show.

Installation
August 25th to 26th, during business hours 9:00am – 4:00pm.

Judging
The show is judged for cash prizes. Those cash prizes are based on the money paid in to the show for entry fees. Each show is self-supporting in that sense. The shows don’t add money to the BVAA – the money we take in then goes to the prizes and judge. Generally we award first, second, third, and three honorable mentions. This depends on the number of overall entries.

Artist’s Reception
The artist’s reception is Thursday, September 3rd from 5-8pm. This is the final concert series evening! The concert runs from 6-8pm so aim to get there before 6 for easier parking! There is parking both alongside the mill buildings and also across the street in a larger lot. As always with events at the Whitin Mill, PLEASE park in the upper parking lot unless you have mobility issues. There are many people who really need the lower lot for serious mobility issues. If you have mobility issues and can come in with someone to drop you off by the stairs and pick you up there, that would be great. I am also happy to go up after the show, get my car, and ferry people between the plaza and the upper lot.

We will have HUGE crowds for this reception. The finale act is a Fleetwood Mac tribute band. It is well worth attending to meet visitors and discuss your art. I will have name tags available so that you can easily be identified as an artist. There will be a food truck on site. NOTE: We will NOT be providing free food or drink at this concert because it would be challenging to manage the volume of people present and to have free alcohol. No need to bring food or drink. The food truck is pretty tasty!

Pick Up
Pick up is Friday, October 23rd during business hours 9am to 4pm and Monday, October 26th from 9am to 4pm. If you aren’t able to make that timeframe, please contact Lisa for other arrangements. She can bring any non-picked-up art over to Uxbridge after Monday, for retrieval there during our regular Saturday 10-3 hours.

Address any questions via our BVAA Contact Information

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

Here’s the walkthrough for the 2023 show, to give you some inspiration:

You can also enjoy our 2021 Fall Show!

Summertime is a busy time for many of our artists, so we keep our summer workshops light and fun.

The workshop will involve Carol Frieswick’s book and card set “The Artist’s Muse – Unlock the Door to Your Creativity”. There are bunches of cards with all sorts of challenges and prompts to get you thinking out of the box with your art. We’ll have watercolors, paper, and brushes on hand. We’ll have acrylic paint, cyanotype paper, and more! If you have a preferred medium feel free to bring along your own paints, pencils, or camera. We will tackle the creative challenges with whatever we like to work with. Or, heck, if you normally work in one media, try changing over to another to see how it goes!

If you’d like to bring in a few of your works in progress, we’re happy to offer friendly ideas and suggestions on them!

Our summer meetings are casual and drop-in. Come and leave whenever you want, and work on whatever projects you’d like. 

Our August 2026 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 18th from 6:30-8:30pm.

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

The space is fully handicapped / disability accessible with no stairs. It is immediately next to a large free parking lot. There is a bathroom.

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

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 try some new things and explore your creativity!

Ask with any questions!

Our meetings are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Here are the sunflower images which will be part of our 2026 Sunflower Art Show at the Booklovers’ Gourmet in Webster, Massachusetts! These are all available for sale. They will be on display for the month of August 2026. Ask with any questions!

Here’s the full details about our 2026 Sunflower Art Show!

Here are the static images of the artwork from the 2026 Carbon Copies / Fakes and Forgeries Art Show. Please vote for your 1st 2nd and 3rd favorite pieces! The winners are announced on Fri July 31st 2026. You can vote in the comments, by email to info@bvaa.org, or by visiting the Uxbridge gallery in person!

“#1 RAINY DAY VIOLETS”
ANN WAGSTAFF
WATERCOLOR
NFS

Contact us if you’d like to have a print / notecard version of Ann’s painting. The original painting was done by BVAA member Sue Dion and was copied with permission.

“#2 S’MORES GOTHIC”
CAROLE PLANTE
ACRYLIC
NFS

“#3 FLOWERS IN A VASE 1866”
LAURA CENEDELLA
ACRYLIC
$1200

“#4 ARISTID(A) BRUANT”
KELLY O’BRIEN
ACRYLIC
$50

“#5 WHEAT FIELDS AND CYPRESSES”
JAYNE SARKISIAN
ACRYLIC
$200

“#6 GUSTAV KLIMT PORTRAIT OF FRAULEIN LEISER”
JUDY MURPHY
WATERCOLOR
$250

“#7 GUSTAV KLIMT LADY IN GOLD”
JUDY MURPHY
WATERCOLOR
$250

“#9 LETS CHANGE THE VISUALS”
DEB BOTTOMLEY
WATERCOLOR
$425

“#10 CAT 1”
LISA SHEA
ACRYLIC
$50

“#11 CAT 2”
LISA SHEA
ACRYLIC
$50

“#12 CAT 3”
LISA SHEA
ACRYLIC
$50

“#13 THE GOLDFINCH”
MERILYN ROCKS
ACRYLIC
$150

Merilyn’s notes: “The Goldfinch” was painted in oil in 1654 by Carel Fabritius, a 32 year old man who lost his life that same year during an explosion in a nearby factory. “The Goldfinch” survived, however. No one knows why he chose to paint it on a 9″ x 13.2″ thick piece of old wood but it can still be seen today in the Mauritshuis in the Hague, the Netherlands. The little bird is tethered to his perch by rings and chain which lend a sadness to his story.

“#14 ON THE WAY TO LANDHOLM FARM”
NANCY RUSSELL
WATERCOLOR
$150

Nancy’s notes: Started with Ryder House by Edward Hopper (1933) that hangs in the Smithsonian. For the purposes of the “Copies Show” I adapted the style to a photograph taken last year on the road near Laudholm Farm Wells, Maine.

“#15 DREAMING OF ROTHKO”
LYNNE GALLUZZO
ACRYLIC
NFS

Please vote on your choices for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The winners will be announced on Friday July 31st 2026 at the show reception!

July is extremely busy for the Blackstone Valley Art Association! We just finished our huge Hot Night in the City festival appearance at the Worcester Center for Crafts. THANK YOU to all the artists who helped with that! And now this is the next two weeks!

Print this for your fridge! Save it on your phone!

Ask with any questions – all details should be here on the BVAA.org website!

Summertime is a busy time for many of our artists, so we keep our summer workshops light and fun.

The workshop will involve Carol Frieswick’s book and card set “The Artist’s Muse – Unlock the Door to Your Creativity”. There are bunches of cards with all sorts of challenges and prompts to get you thinking out of the box with your art. We’ll have watercolors, paper, and brushes on hand. We’ll have acrylic paint, cyanotype paper, and more! If you have a preferred medium feel free to bring along your own paints, pencils, or camera. We will tackle the creative challenges with whatever we like to work with. Or, heck, if you normally work in one media, try changing over to another to see how it goes!

If you’d like to bring in a few of your works in progress, we’re happy to offer friendly ideas and suggestions on them!

Our summer meetings are casual and drop-in. Come and leave whenever you want, and work on whatever projects you’d like. 

Our July 2026 monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 21st from 6:30-8:30pm.

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

The space is fully handicapped / disability accessible with no stairs. It is immediately next to a large free parking lot. There is a bathroom.

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

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 try some new things and explore your creativity!

Ask with any questions!

Our meetings are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Have fun learning how to take photos of animals! Join us on Friday July 24th from 10am to noon for our photography & urban sketching workshop at the Green Hill Park Farm! Free! All levels of artists, photographers, and friends warmly encouraged to participate. This event is open to the public.

We will meet at the Green Hill Park Farm, past the entry gates at 10am and then again at 10:30am. If you miss us either time, just look in the farm – it’s not big – for a person in an orange BVAA hat.

Photographer Lisa Shea will provide a brief introductory discussion of ideas for taking photos and sketching in an outdoor setting. Then we will explore the farm until around noon. 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:
Green Hill Park Farm
Green Hill Parkway
Worcester, MA 01605
https://www.worcesterma.gov/parks/green-hill-park-farm

Date and Time:
Friday July 24th, 2026
10am – noon

If you’d like camera help, 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, let us know ahead of time. We have a few we would be able to lend for event. It’s fine to just show up without registering if you don’t need equipment.

Register for Art Event

Let us know if you have any questions!

Whether you participate in the field trip or not, please consider then sending in a few of your animal photos to participate in the free Blackstone Valley Art Association virtual art show. This show has a deadline of Friday, July 31st, 2026! Email up to 5 photos to slideshow@bvaa.org to participate. All are welcome! Free!

Supported by the BVAA, ValleyCAST, and Open Sky.

Our Tenth Annual BVAA Sunflower Show is the lucky way to enjoy golden beauty! Our Sunflower art show is held at the amazing local bookstore / gift shop / cafe Booklovers’ Gourmet.

Where?
The sunflower art show is held at the:
Booklovers’ Gourmet
72 E Main Street
Webster, MA 01570

BookLoversGourmet.com

About the Show
If there ever was a flower which symbolized glorious summertime, the sunflower is the one. Did you know that nearly all of the 70 species of sunflowers are native to North America? They can grow to be up to six feet tall and they even tilt as the sun moves so they always face it!

The Blackstone Valley Art Association is celebrating this sun-shaped delight with a sunflower show throughout the month of August at the Booklovers’ Gourmet in Webster. Come on out to appreciate the artistic visions and explore the shop’s offerings!

Submissions

The JPG email submission deadline for the sunflower show is Sunday, July 26th, 2026. We have limited wall space at the Booklovers’ Gourmet for 18 items sized around 16×20. The art doesn’t have to be exactly that size, but in that general range. Smaller is fine; massive 4′ by 8′ murals will not fit.

What we’ll do is have each member submit one or two JPGs of artwork via email to info@bvaa.org they’d like to include. If we get too many for the available wall space we’ll do a Facebook vote. All submissions will be in the virtual version of the show.

This show is open to all BVAA members and is FREE to participate in. This is not a judged show – it is primarily a visibility and sales opportunity. We pretty much sell artwork every year we hold this show. Please submit sunflowers intended for sale :). The Booklovers’ Gourmet is a book and small gift shop. The art that sells tends to be in the $40-$80 range, not the $300-$500 range. That being said, feel free to enter whatever art you’d like that is sunflower-themed. You never know what will catch a buyer’s eye!

Any sales will include a 30% commission taken by the shop. The BVAA takes no commission on this show. Full BVAA terms: BVAA Show Terms and Conditions

Drop-Off
The drop-off for the Sunflower Show is Thu July 30th and Fri July 31st between 10am-5pm. Items should be dropped off directly at the Booklovers’ Gourmet shop. If you can’t make either date, contact Lisa Shea and she’ll arrange something. The Booklovers’ Gourmet shop will take care of hanging and labelling the items.

Please make sure that the back of EVERY art piece is labelled with your name, the artwork title, its medium, and price. That way Deb knows what labels go with what pieces. Also, Deb uses a hanging system quite like our Uxbridge gallery system. Try to wire pieces if at all possible. Sawtooth hangers don’t really fit on her hooks. If you can only use a sawtooth, add a loop of wire on it so there’s more space (in the loop) for the hook to hold the art.

Public Reception
Our sunflower show Artist’s Reception will be on Friday August 21st from 5-7pm. Please plan on attending! Invite family and friends! Share the news!

Pick-Up
Pick-up for the show is Saturday August 29th from 12 noon to 5pm. If you can’t make it, let Lisa know and she’ll get your art for you. Please leave your art in the show through Sat Aug 29th. We are doing heavy publicity for this show and want to make sure all art is available wholly through that ending date. Some people wait until the last minute to buy. We’ve had multiple people buy art on the morning of the pickup date! Also, we create a video at the end to promote any unsold art, so people know it’s available.

Theme
This show is all about sunflowers! Anything related to sunflowers is fair game. Photography, paintings, drawings, sculptures, mosaics, you name it! Look through the artwork from previous years to see how other artists have tackled this theme.

Here’s the art from 2026!

From 2025:

Here is what we’ve had for previous years:

Sunflower Show 2019 – Image Collection

Photos from 2018 Sunflower Show

Summertime is a great time to enjoy art! Come out and participate in our summer Milford TV Art Show! This art show is open to all current BVAA Members and is FREE to participate in. Did you know we held our very first art show reception at Milford TV on January 19th 2013? We’ve been holding shows here for over 13 years!! We love our relationship with Milford TV :).

The Milford TV Station is an active public location which creates a wide variety of cable TV shows. People come and go quite often. Our gallery consists of the walls of their long hallways. This public showcase gives us the opportunity to make numerous social media posts about the art. Milford TV has even done live interviews with our artists, which they share out on YouTube and with other local cable stations. The public can then stop by Milford TV any time they are available to see the art and buy it.

This show is NOT JUDGED. It is a publicity opportunity. This means you can bring in ANY art you want, even if it’s been in a previous BVAA show. This is a great chance to get extra art off your walls, out of your basement, and out on public display.

This is a perfect way to showcase art to build your audience and to make a sale. There is no theme – you can bring in any wall-hanging art you wish! Art must be wired in order to hang on the hanging system.

Drop-Off
Our show dropoff will be the week of July 27 – 31, 2026. Milford TV is generally open normal business hours, but call ahead to make sure someone will be there, just in case. Their phone number is 508-488-6445. If you can’t make any of those days / times let our contact Dominique Charest-Ciampa know at Dominique@milfordtv.net and we’ll figure something out.

Note that for security reasons, since the DMV is just a few doors down and gets a lot of foot traffic, the Milford TV station has a doorbell to ring to be let in. There’s a sign on the door instructing you to press the doorbell. Please do that :).

If you still have art at Milford TV from a previous show, please pick it up during this time. We like to cycle old art out to have space for fresh art there. Thanks!

Location
Milford TV Station
138 South Main Street
Milford, MA
https://www.milfordtv.net/

Reception
The reception for our August-September 2026 Milford TV Art Show will be held on a Thursday to be determined from 5-7pm. There isn’t an award ceremony for this free show – the show is a creative outlet for our artists and fans. Our Milford TV Art Show receptions are wonderful relax-and-talk-with-snacks events! Open to the public! All are welcome to attend!

Show Details for the Artists
The Milford TV Station employees create the labels and perform the hanging for us. There is no need to use the BVAA online submission form to indicate what you’re bringing. Simply be sure to label the back of each piece with its title, your name, contact info, and the price. The Milford TV employees need to be able to look at the back of the artwork to know how to label it.

This show is for BVAA members only and is free to participate in.

The Milford TV station does not take any commission on sales. Neither does the BVAA. This is an ideal sales venue, and we do see sales regularly at this venue.

This is a long hallway – bring up to five pieces to represent your art! The items can be any size or shape – Milford has a great hanging system which can accommodate pretty much anything. If you are working in a smallish size which can vertically stack, you can bring up to 10 pieces.

Pickup
Milford TV would like to have this show up through the end of September 2026. They are suggesting a show swap date range of September 28 – October 2, 2026. If you need your art back earlier, we can work that out.

Here’s a video from our current spring 2026 show.

Here are some photos from previous Milford TV Station shows, to give a sense of what the space is like.

Ask with any questions!