Know Your Org: Three Cities Art Club

"Know Your Org" is an informational series designed to spotlight some of the wonderful organizations in our community. This month, we are highlighting Three Cities Art Club. 

Whether you create art or just appreciate it, there is a place that has been sharing local art with our community for 75 years. It’s the Three Cities Art Club. The three cities in the name are Canton, Plymouth and Westland, but people of all ages from across the Metro area are welcome to participate.

“We provide an opportunity for local artists to get together and learn new things, try out new techniques and be able to exhibit their artwork and, hopefully, sell some of it,” says Marilyn Meredith, Club President.

The club has monthly meetings at the Plymouth District Library. Each meeting features local artists' works, presentations, professional demonstrations or workshops.

“Sometimes, a meeting will be a workshop as opposed to somebody just presenting what they do,” says Marilyn. “We’ve had Golden Paint, which is a manufacturer, come in and let us try out a new type of paint they came up with. They brought all the supplies, and everybody got to paint with them. That was a lot of fun.”

“Other times, it can be somebody from the DIA presenting a particular medium or range of time. We had one that was on pop art,” she continued. “In May, we’re having one on female photographers. Other times, it’s an artist talking about their work or demonstrating how they do it.”

Anyone can attend these meetings for free, whether you’re an artist or not. But, after attending three meetings, you must join the club to continue. However, membership is just $30 for the year.

Each meeting features a display of members' work. Members can bring one or two pieces to the meeting for the club’s popular vote. Anyone who attends can vote for their favorite pieces, and ribbons are awarded to those who receive the most votes. The artists who accumulate the most votes over the year receive cash prizes.

“We hope people bring their whole family to these meetings so the adults can talk to the kids about the art and get their impressions. Even the kids get to vote for their favorite pieces,” says Marilyn.

One big, juried art show takes place at the end of the year, starting in November. There is a call for artists; you don’t have to be a member to submit your work. Professionals review all the submissions and decide which ones are accepted into the show.

“The art,” Marilyn explains, “is from surrealistic to realistic, including nature. It just includes all kinds of things, something for everybody.”

If you’d like to know more about the Three Cities Art Club or attend one of their monthly meetings, visit their website.