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I love any place that’s different from the usual thing. Grace Café & Gallery is one of those places. Clare Vickery, the owner, has created an inviting environment. An “arty” ambience, in the best sense. I discovered Grace Café not too long ago. Now that I live in Dania Beach, within walking distance of this lovely gallery and restaurant, I’m starting to become a more regular visitor. If you’ve never been there, this weekend is a good time to get acquainted.
Starting Friday night, the gallery’s 2007 summer art exhibition officially opens for the season. It’s a wonderful opportunity to browse and buy art, sample café foods and basically just check out this delightful space. And I do mean space, as in spacious. Grace Café & Gallery has 7,000 square feet on two floors. The shop opens into whole rooms of antiques, sculptures, paintings. There are glass cases crowded with vintage jewelry. Grace Café & Gallery also offers year round art and dance classes in the upstairs studio. It’s not just another static art gallery. That is what makes this place so different. It feels alive and vital and creative. When I stopped by this week, Haitian artist Eric Jean-Louis was busy painting an original piece on a multi-paneled room divider. It was beautiful. He was working just a few feet from the café tables and willing to chat with anyone who felt like engaging him in conversation. That’s the kind of gallery this is. Artists and art buyers come and go. Painters don’t just sell their canvases there. Sometimes they create them there too.
The renowned Overtown artist, Purvis Young, has an extensive collection for sale at Grace Café & Gallery. So do Jean-Louis and other Haitian artists such as Louis Rosemond. Huge animal sculptures by Felix Gonzalez sit near the front entrance, towering over everyone who walks in the door. Friday’s exhibition opening runs from 6:30 p.m. – 10 p.m., with some of the artists in attendance. Reservations are required. On Saturday, the gallery welcomes anyone who cares to wander by, offering free barbecue, art classes, music, dancing and games for all ages from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. For Friday night reservations or more information, call 954-921-1231. Grace Café & Gallery is located at 49 North Federal Highway, Dania Beach, between Griffin and Stirling roads. For art and antique lovers, it’s a find – a gallery that really is different. And utterly charming.
Starting Friday night, the gallery’s 2007 summer art exhibition officially opens for the season. It’s a wonderful opportunity to browse and buy art, sample café foods and basically just check out this delightful space. And I do mean space, as in spacious. Grace Café & Gallery has 7,000 square feet on two floors. The shop opens into whole rooms of antiques, sculptures, paintings. There are glass cases crowded with vintage jewelry. Grace Café & Gallery also offers year round art and dance classes in the upstairs studio. It’s not just another static art gallery. That is what makes this place so different. It feels alive and vital and creative. When I stopped by this week, Haitian artist Eric Jean-Louis was busy painting an original piece on a multi-paneled room divider. It was beautiful. He was working just a few feet from the café tables and willing to chat with anyone who felt like engaging him in conversation. That’s the kind of gallery this is. Artists and art buyers come and go. Painters don’t just sell their canvases there. Sometimes they create them there too.
The renowned Overtown artist, Purvis Young, has an extensive collection for sale at Grace Café & Gallery. So do Jean-Louis and other Haitian artists such as Louis Rosemond. Huge animal sculptures by Felix Gonzalez sit near the front entrance, towering over everyone who walks in the door. Friday’s exhibition opening runs from 6:30 p.m. – 10 p.m., with some of the artists in attendance. Reservations are required. On Saturday, the gallery welcomes anyone who cares to wander by, offering free barbecue, art classes, music, dancing and games for all ages from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. For Friday night reservations or more information, call 954-921-1231. Grace Café & Gallery is located at 49 North Federal Highway, Dania Beach, between Griffin and Stirling roads. For art and antique lovers, it’s a find – a gallery that really is different. And utterly charming.
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 5:48 PM
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