Community Art Gallery

Calling All Artists and Art Lovers

There’s an art gallery in Needham, at Christ Episcopal Church that is open to the public and presents work from artists of any age and faith, from novice to seasoned professional.

This is an amazing venue and it is yours at no charge. Share your talent with others and create connections to diverse communities. Solo and group shows are encouraged.

If your art has a price tag, we ask that you give at least 20% of your sales to a charity or cause of your choice, thus raising awareness to the community.  Past donations have gone to Wateraid.org, Brain & Behavioral Research Foundation, Every Mother Counts, Community Servings, Kids 4 Peace, Horizons for Homeless Children in Dorchester, Black Feather Horse Rescue, The Haiti Music School, Skincancer.org, Silent Spring, and Riverside to name a few. Exhibits change every two to three months.

We are always looking for artists of all abilities and particularly from diverse populations and programs to share their work in our gallery The exhibits are curated by expressive art therapist, Lucy Nims-LaFleche.  If you would like to display your art, whether it be photos, paintings, printing, drawing, or fiber art, please contact Lucy:  lucylafleche@aol.com.

The physical gallery is in the church’s Upper Parish Hall at 1132 Highland Avenue and is open to the public Mondays through Fridays from 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM and Sundays from 9 AM – noon.   Please drop by and see beautiful, thought provoking art; it will brighten your day.  Then, spread the word!

A Family Affair

John Heymann, Photography
Belle Brett, Watercolors & Collages
Beth Brett, Fabric Arts
Josephine Brett, Painting, Silkscreen, and Illustration

 

John Heymann, Photography (husband of Belle Brett)
John began his career in art as an unpaid intern photographer and reporter at the Newton Times. Following this, John held numerous other teaching positions including as a photography instructor at Cambridge Center for Adult Education, where he met his wife, Belle. In 1986, John started his own photography business. Over the next 30 years, he photographed events and carried out editorial assignments for non-profits and corporations. John’s photographs have been published in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Downbeat Magazine, and the Boston Phoenix.

Belle Brett, Watercolors and Collages (wife of John Heymann, daughter of Josephine Brett, and sister of Beth Brett)
Belle loved art as a child and spent endless hours making tableaus, designing paper doll clothes, and drawing graphic novels. In her early adult years, while building a career, she took many arts and crafts courses, enjoying each one, particularly the photography course in which she met her future husband, John. As Belle moves toward retirement, she is devoting more time to artmaking, including exhibiting and selling her art. Belle published a novel Gina in the Floating World in 2018 and she maintains the blog, Slow Downsizing, about downsizing. Belle’s art has been accepted into juried shows and she has had her own solo exhibits.

Beth Brett (1945-2003), Fabric Arts (daughter of Josephine Brett and sister of Belle Brett)
Beth graduated with honors in fashion design from Philadelphia’s Moore College of Art. After college, Beth moved to London and began designing clothes for English companies. In 1975, Beth launched her own company, Beth Brett Designs Ltd, which specialized in highly designed and decorative women’s knitwear that were sold across the world. She regularly showed at fashion weeks in New York and Europe. In 1992, Beth and Belle formed the knitwear design agency “Deirdre Clare” selling British knitwear design in swatch formats direct to American manufacturers, such as Donna Karan, Liz Claiborne and Ann Klein. After Beth died of cancer in 2003, Victoria and Albert Museum in London acquired Beth’s business archives and designs.

Josephine Carleton Brett (1908-2000), Painting, Silkscreen, and Illustration (mother of Beth and Belle)
Josephine, the daughter of two Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia, was born in London. She grew up in London where she received her British Art Teachers’ Diploma and then taught arts and crafts in a variety of settings in England. Josephine was also a freelance illustrator, designing book jackets, advertisements, and gift wrap. In 1950, Josephine, along wither her husband and two young daughters (Beth and Belle), relocated to Pennsylvania where she established the Children’s Creative Arts Studio and began painting again. In 1968, Josephine moved back to London and took up painting, silkscreen, and print production. In 1987, she held a one-person retrospective art show.

 

We are proud to support Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization by donating 30% of all sales from this exhibit to the organization.