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CASSOPOLIS — A regional art exhibit will return to Cass County next month.

The second annual Cass County Regional Gallery, supported by the county and area group the Cass Area Artists, will be returning to the Cass County Administration Building, 120 Broadway St., Cassopolis. The delivery date for participating artists is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 31. A reception for artists and the guests will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Aug. 7.

The title of the second exhibit will be “Emergence,” which Cass Area Artists officer Alli Farkas said will reflect the current trend toward slowly establishing a return to normal pleasures of life after a pandemic.

“It represents an ambience rather than anything specific in the art works submitted,” she said.

The Cass County Regional Gallery got its start in 2019 after Cass County Administrator Jeff Carmen contacted Cass Area Artists officers to present an idea to showcase local art on the long walls of the Administration Building. The artists were on board, and the inaugural exhibit opened in mid-January 2020. Though the exhibit was closed a month early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Farkas said it was popular and successful.

The exhibits in the Cass County Regional Gallery are open to any resident 18 years or older living in Berrien, Cass, Van Buren, Kalamazoo and Saint Joseph counties in Michigan, and LaPorte, Saint Joseph and Elkhart counties in Indiana. It is an “open call” exhibit, which Farkas said makes it particularly attractive to established or emerging artists who are shy about having their work judged. There is no jury, no jury fee, no entry fee and no commissions taken by the gallery for work sold. There is also a free artists reception.

“The overarching purpose of this exhibit is to give artists who may have little exposure a validating experience for their art, while providing space for professionals and emerging artists to highlight their work,” Farkas said. “In addition, the fact that the public frequents the Administration Building gives the gallery the opportunity to let the community in on our little secret that Michiana is actually full of talented artists, and this is a great opportunity to appreciate their work or even own it.”

For general rules and information, visit cassareaartists.org.