MIVAL: The hub of the Island art community

Anne Hritzay and about 140 others who are committed to creativity are part of what she calls the hub of the Mercer Island art community.

Mercer Island Visual Arts League (MIVAL) is a longtime fixture on the Island, forming in 1961 as a group of artists who gathered and bonded over painting and sharing art ideas.

MIVAL’s brush strokes are still going strong today with Hritzay serving as president for the last three years. The current cut-and-woven paper artist has been a member of the group for six years and enjoys everything about her MIVAL experience. Last year, she delved into the botanical-printing-on-fabric realm.

“My goal and my interest is just bringing community together around art events. I’m the primary one who drives all the kids art events. So I’m at the (Mostly) Music in the Park in the summer with the kids table,” Hritzay said.

She added that MIVAL also sets up shop at some Mercer Island Community and Event Center events and Summer Celebration, and has partnered with organizers of the Juneteenth Community Celebration, Pride in the Park and Mercer Island Chinese Association events. MIVAL also offers art experiences at those gatherings.

A glance at the MIVAL calendar of regular events and opportunities and an interested artist will see monthly artist demos, drop-in artmaking and socializing at the MIVAL Studio (7710 SE 29th St.), Fine Arts Showcase at Mercer Island High School, the High School Scholarship Program ($4,000-$5,000 awarded annually in May), the Junior Art Show, gallery exhibitions at the community and event center and more.

Hritzay zeroed in on MIVAL’s community mission: “It’s an opportunity for new artists to find their voice and get out in the community with their art. It’s about encouraging people to take a chance and put their art out there.”

Members range in age from 18 to 96 and cover the following scope of artistry: painters (acrylic, oil, watercolor, realistic and abstract), fiber artists, jewelers, ceramicists and photographers. Along with delving into their art at any time, the members — and other Islanders — gather for meetings on the first Thursday of the month at the community and event center for a potluck lunch and then settle in for a lecture or demonstration.

In addition to MIVAL’s gallery (2836 78th Ave. SE), the organization has welcomed people into the MIVAL Studio for community art classes for the last year.

“We have developed it into a studio where we can offer classes for up to 12 people. We are doing drop-in Monday art gatherings, drop-in Friday fiber gatherings for the knitters and crocheters. We are really expanding the opportunities for using that space,” Hritzay said.

Turning back the clock, MIVAL held its first arts and crafts show (“Mercerfair”) in 1963 and the first local summer art festival (“The Island Arts Festival”) in 1967. From 1961-62, Renwick Haugland and Earl Ballard were principal coordinators of MIVAL’s informal monthly meetings.

In the present day, bird and wildlife photographer Judith Roan spends much of her time managing the gallery and watching local artists thrive.

“I am passionate about having a place for our local artists to show and sell their work. Our members have become my social circle and good friends,” said Roan, who joined MIVAL in 2002.

Upon entering the MIVAL world, Hritzay said, “I was immediately drawn to the people and the energy. There’s a lot of people in a lot of different types of art that are contributing.”

From Jan. 6-Feb. 8, MIVAL will present “Harmony of Color” at the community and event center gallery. In March and April, MIVAL will partner with the Seattle Universal Math Museum for an exhibit titled “Intersections: Math, Art, Truth and Humanity” that will feature some of the visual principles of mathematics, Hritzay said.

For more information, visit: https://mival.org/