Guild of Creative Art Checks in to the Oyster Point Hotel

On March 14th, 2020 the Guild of Creative Art in Shrewsbury, NJ temporarily closed their doors to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On March 18th, 2020 the Oyster Point Hotel in Red Bank, NJ did the same.

Since that time the Guild’s building has remained shuttered but they have created two high school shows and four member shows, all online. After the Oyster Point Hotel began their phased re-opening to the public on June 1st, 2020, they extended the “Don Harger Paintings 2002 - 2019” exhibition, held an exhibition tour, and had two public art receptions. The Guild has not held any public receptions.

Ellen Martin, the Oyster Point’s Curator and Director of Art Programming felt it was time to change that. “We’ve been lucky to be able to hold our art receptions while adhering to the Covid-19 guidelines. We do plenty of posting on social, but it’s not the same as seeing the work live. I thought it would be helpful to provide the same opportunity to the Guild,” said Ellen.

After getting Kevin Barry’s okay, she broached the subject with David Levy, who along with Barbara Russo is the co-president of the Guild’s board. After getting a yes from the Guild’s board, everyone set about to make it happen.

Kevin Barry is the V.P. of J.P. Barry Hospitality Inc. and his vision, since initiating the art program in 2009, has always been to invite the community and local artists into the Hotel. “I’m pleased that we can extend this opportunity to the Guild at this point. The Guild is well-respected and one of our longest standing arts organizations in New Jersey. David Levy is an arts leader in our community and a supporter of our exhibits. He and the Guild members deserve this chance,” said Kevin.

“We at the Guild are honored and deeply appreciative of the opportunity to exhibit at the Oyster Point Hotel and thank Ellen Martin and Kevin Barry for reaching out to us with this gesture. The two of them have transformed the Hotel into a "must see" venue to view fine art, and we are thrilled to be part of it,” said David.

The Guild will be using the Hotel's two second-floor public gallery spaces, one above the Hotel’s spacious and dramatic Atrium, and the other facing the parking lot. Their first exhibit “Oyster Point of View” has been hung. The Hotel is always open for viewing, but the public reception will be on Sunday, September 13th at 4:00 p.m., right after the exhibition tour of “The Ocean and The Beach” on the Hotel’s first floor.

The Oyster Point’s Art program is thriving. Their photography exhibit “Foci” will open on September 25th. The marketplace exhibit “Potpourri” will open on November 20. Intermixed with these openings will be several exhibition tours.

Over at the Guild, the 60th Anniversary party originally planned for May has been postponed. Their next exhibit “Daughter Father Exhibit” created by Paul Hansen and his daughter Nora will be live at the Guild in September and October. “The reception on August 30th will be invite only, but we will also schedule small groups through a sign-up procedure. We’re also looking forward to resuming our art classes in September,” said David Levy.