RUMFORD – Local artists have a chance next month to show off their works at the first River Valley Expo.

At Thursday’s River Valley Arts Initiative meeting, project coordinator Becky Welsh said local painters, sculptors, potters and others can rent a space in the auditorium of Mountain Valley High School to display their work at a reduced fee because of the participation of the initiative and its parent group, the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition.

“This is a wonderful opportunity. The Expo will draw a business audience. This will let them know who the artists are in the area, they will be a captive audience,” she said of the River Valley Chamber’s Business Expo. “This is a tailor-made chance for artists to market their works.”

Artists who wish to take part in the Expo are asked to contact the River Valley Chamber of Commerce. So far, nearly 100 businesses, organizations, municipalities and individuals have lined up space at the high school for the Sept. 26 and Sept. 27 Expo.

The initiative is also gathering the names and descriptions of area resources for a brochure it will likely publish next year that will list artists, historical groups, and as comprehensive as possible listing of the cultural resources in the region.

So far, nearly 60 surveys of known cultural resources and artists have been returned, but Welsh knows there are many, many more.

She plans to contact these known artists either by phone or in person over the next few months as part of the compilation for the regionwide brochure.

Also at Thursday’s meeting, the arts initiative asked River Valley Economic Developer Scott Christiansen to compile a list of possible building space that could be used to display artists’ works and to provide an area for an artists’ studio. The committee is also looking for suitable performance arts space.

The River Valley Arts Initiative committee will meet next on Sept. 15 at 4 p.m. at the River Valley Business Resource Center on River Street.

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