August 6, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:

Tina Lehman, SAMA-Johnstown Coordinator

(814) 269-7234

Travis Mearns, Public Relations Coordinator

(724) 238-6015

Johnstown – The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Johnstown will celebrate two important milestones this fall. The Museum will be the host site for the Allied Artists of Johnstown’s 75^th Annual Juried Show, at the same time that the Museum is celebrating its 25^th anniversary. The Allied Artists exhibition consistently features works in a wide variety of media, created by some of the region’s most talented artists. More than 50 works will be featured in this year’s show, which opens August 17 and runs through November 4.

The exhibition features works in photography, acrylic, brass, lithograph, oil, watercolor, colored pencil, and mixed media. To help commemorate the 75^th anniversary, the exhibition also will include several "in memoriam" works by past Allied Artists members, including a work by Olga Henning from the Allied Artists’ 5^th Annual Show.

Serving as exhibition juror is Connie Shannon, an award-winning artist, art instructor, and art judge from Ocala, Florida. Shannon works in her personal studio where she also displays her work, does her own matting and framing, and works in sculpture. Her formal art education includes oils and pastels, acrylic, and graphite. Her work is included in private and corporate collections throughout the United States.

"This is the 75^th anniversary of the Allied Artists of Johnstown and, over the years, this group has grown to a membership of more than 125 local artists," said Tina Lehman, SAMA-Johnstown Coordinator. "I’ve had the privilege of working with this group for the last five years, and I think this year’s exhibition promises to be the best yet. Please come out and see the work of your friends and neighbors."

Begun in the mid-1920s when Margery Coleman Harris and seven of her friends formed an art group to share their interest in painting, the Allied Artists of Johnstown was formally incorporated in 1932. The group produces an average of four exhibitions annually, sponsors scholarships for graduating high school seniors pursuing careers in the arts, and, through its Friends of Art Fund, donates art work to local public institutions.

The Museum will host an opening reception for the exhibition at 4 p.m. on Friday, August 17. Awards will be announced and presented during the reception. The event is open to the public free of charge, though reservations are requested by August 15 and can be made by calling the Museum at (814) 269-7234. The Museum also will host a gallery tour at 2 p.m. on Monday, September 17. Exhibiting artists will be in attendance to take visitors on a tour of the exhibition and answer questions about their works. The event is open to the public free of charge.

The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Johnstown is located in the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Hours of operation are 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Museum is a handicapped-accessible facility and is open to the public free of charge. For more information, call the Museum or visit www.sama-art.org.