Sophia Mielke '25
Sep 27, 2024
On Sunday, September 22, the Burgin Center for the Arts hosted the year’s first “Sips and Nibbles” event, an opportunity for the community to view the art in the Coffrin and Corner Galleries while enjoying small snacks and drinks.
The annual show is the Nancy Horton Heefner Memorial Art Show, displayed in the Coffrin Gallery. The 2025, Advanced Studies: Studio Art’s class projects featured prominently.
“Currently in the gallery is a community show honoring Nancy Horton Heefner, who was an art teacher here. She passed away, but her husband is on the Alumni Council and is a graduate of Mercersburg,” said Sydney Caretti, arts teacher and Director of Galleries at Mercersburg Academy. “In conjunction with the Historical Society, we put this show on.”
The exhibit was open to Mercersburg Academy students and people from town. Members of the Historical Society came to support the memory of Nancy Horton Heefner. Many of the local artists who submitted pieces also came out to recognize the talents of others.
“The great thing about this show is, it’s non-juried, so we don’t deny pieces because it ‘doesn’t fit’ or it ‘isn’t what we’re looking for,’ so this show is anything and all ages,” said Caretti. “I believe our youngest artist is Eleanor McSweeney, and I’m not going to guess our oldest artist, but we have a wide range and it’s beautiful.” Many students took time on Sunday afternoon to attend. “I like how there’s no restrictions to what you can make, and how there are infinite possibilities of what you can show people,” said Cocona Yamamoto ‘25, a Mercersburg Academy artist.
“I really like all the colors and I feel like all the landscape pieces are really nostalgic,” said Sydney Wijaya ‘27.
This exhibit featured works ranging from paintings of landscapes to sculptures constructed of ceramic and wood to metalwork. The artwork included a variety of mediums as well, such as oil paint, acrylic paint, oil pastels, watercolor, yarn, and common markers.
“Everyone should know how absolutely talented our area is with visual art, and how giving they are, to share what they love. It makes them feel so good to have people come out to Sips and Nibbles,” said Caretti.
“The next show that’s coming is the Elaine Wolf show, titled, “About Face,”… will be going up this week,” noted Caretti. She also thanked Harry Cameron, a talented and dedicated Sips and Nibbles pianist, for the entertainment he provided during the event.