Sometimes, art venues appear in the least likely of places.
At first glance, Barely Used Consignments on Main St. is a great place to score a reasonably priced piece of furniture, a fashionable outfit or home accessory. Dig deeper, though, and you’ll find that they offer so much more. Moving to their new location at 8 North Main Street (just two doors up from their old spot) opened up an opportunity for owner Tianna Alves to devote a single room to locally created art and community programs.
In the “gathering place,” as Tianna calls the space, local artists display and sell their work.Currently, there are eight artists represented and they will rotate so there will always be something new to look at when you stop by.
Tianna is continuously looking for new local artists. If you are an artist who’s looking for this type of venue to spread the word about your work, contact the store for all the details.
The gathering place inside Barely Used has also allowed Tianna to offer classes and events to customers of all ages. Just in a recent month, Barely Used Consignments on Main St. hosted a Lego club, a bead making class, an evening of live music, a walking tour, a photography class plus many more events.
Julianne Alzamora of Forest Hill recently participated in the photography class led by local photographer, Dave Gigliotti. Julianne said, “It was a ton of fun seeing Bel Air through the eyes of the camera. I was very surprised by the pictures that came out! It was definitely a great experience for photographers of all ages and skill.”
This is just the kind of response Tianna was hoping for. She has always been a huge fan of the arts and has felt that art provides a form of therapy. According to Tianna, “I wanted to create a safe, warm place for people to come and relax, whether it is for an event or even just for fifteen minutes on their lunch break.”
One look at the calendar of events at Barely Used and you will see what an asset this new space is to the Bel Air A&E District and what Tianna’s energy and love of the arts adds to our existing framework of cultural events. Stop by and check out what they have to offer!
