Image courtesy of the artist
On View October 2-November 12, 2026
Gallery Hours:Wednesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM
Find us at 114 3rd St. NE
New City Arts Welcome Gallery is free and open to the public. Questions? Email us
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First Friday Opening Reception
October 2 from 5-7:30PM; Artist talk at 6PM. Free and open to the public. All ages welcome.Co-Working at Welcome Gallery
October 8 & November 14 from 10AM-5PM. Learn more about our free, drop-in co-working days.Sensory Friendly Second Saturdays
October 10 & November 14 from 10AM-5PM. Learn more.Collage for All! with Arc Studio Artists
October 17 from 12-2PM. More info to come.New City Reads: Disability Visibility, edited by Alice Wong
October 28 from 6-7:30PM. A book club with art! RSVP here. -
Welcome Gallery is free and open to the public. The space is wheelchair accessible and our restroom is ADA compliant and gender-neutral. Explore this social story to learn more about what your visit will be like.
Please note that the gallery’s front door is heavy and opens out. If you need assistance opening the door, please knock! A staff member would be happy help.
Each month, Sensory Friendly Second Saturdays (10AM-5PM) offer visitors with sensory sensitivities an opportunity to view exhibitions with modifications to sound and lighting. Additionally, fidgets are provided and exhibition tours are offered in ASL during these hours.
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Check back here for more information about what kind of art you will see this month, how it is installed, and what to expect as you move through the space. In the meantime, explore this social story to get a sense of what the gallery is like.
About Take a Bath in It (courtesy of the curator)
This exhibit features a collection of two and three-dimensional, mixed-media, abstract work made by Maude Brown, Julia Manley, Dottie Swangin, and Selina Thurston. These four artists practice at The Arc Studio, a creative arts studio for individuals with developmental disabilities located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The pieces shown here are linked through their use of vibrant, saturated colors, expressive mark making, and novel applications of common and uncommon art materials such as acrylic paint, paint stick, watercolor, oil pastel, washi tape, found adhesives, yarn and string, and found papers or objects. The title, Take a Bath in It is drawn from a quote by Julia Manley, one of the exhibiting artists, who often says while painting, “My mother always said, ‘It’s no fun unless you take a bath in it!’” This exhibition provides viewers with the opportunity to bathe in the sensory, material, and formal elements of the work, to be enveloped by the vibrancy and richness of colors, surrounded by the artists’ expressive marks and rich layers, awash in the aesthetic perspectives of the makers. The title is an invitation and a directive to move beyond merely seeing or observing at a distance, but to sink into the art that surrounds us, to sit for a while in the expressive output and visual language of another human being.
About the Artists
Selina Thurston (she/her) is a mixed media artist whose approach to artmaking involves innovation, experimentation, and a love of new media. Her sweeping landscapes and evocative collages reveal a brilliant use of color and a gift for compositional balance. Selina’s signature laugh echoes through The Arc Studio and her artwork can be found in homes and businesses throughout Central Virginia.
Dottie Swangin (she/her) is a painter and collage artist whose process is driven by material exploration and playful experimentation. Her abstract paintings are made up of dynamic color combinations and her collages layer everyday materials with bright, modern motifs. Dottie works in The Arc Studio daily, incorporating new approaches and ideas into her ever-evolving, always fascinating art.
Maude Brown (she/her) applies a direct, physical approach to making art, deploying rapid mark making and energetic movements. Drawn to experimentation, Maude will often include paint, collage, ink, and pastels in one artwork, trying new applications and combinations with each piece. One of The Arc Studio’s most prolific artists, Maude’s bold, expressive paintings hang in homes and businesses throughout Charlottesville.
Julia Manley’s (she/her) approach to artmaking is driven by the desire to tell stories. Through her intricate, colorful acrylic paintings, Julia shares stories about her childhood, travel, musicals, romance, and religion. Her vast body of work reflects her vivaciousness, sense of humor, and gregarious spirit. Julia says of her time in The Arc Studio, “When I come into the studio, I get my MOJO running!”
About the Curator
Amy Keenan-Amago (she/her) is the founder and director of The Arc Studio at The Arc of the Piedmont, a creative arts program and open studio space for artists with developmental disabilities. She has been honored to curate dozens of shows featuring Arc Studio artwork since the Studio’s opening in 2021. Amy is also a mixed-media artist, art educator, and researcher whose work lies at the intersection of disability studies and art education. She adamantly believes that creative engagement is a universal human impulse and that access to the arts is a fundamental human right.
Located at 114 3rd St. NE on Charlottesville’s downtown pedestrian mall, New City Arts’ Welcome Gallery supports artists who live in the Charlottesville area. Welcome Gallery exhibitions and programs are made possible by generous sponsors, donors, and grants. Interested in sponsoring an exhibition? Connect with us!