Glendale business aims to showcase local artists

The arts are coming to Glendale.

Angelica Harris runs the Excalibur Reading Program on 78th Avenue, and she hopes to transform the center into an art venue once a week.

“We don’t have a program or venue that showcases Glendale artists,” Harris said. “It’s my dream to bring the arts to Glendale.”

Harris plans on booking musicians and poets every Friday evening to showcase their work to an audience of about 30 people. The July 18 event kicks off a new feature that Harris hopes will become a staple every week.

“I want to expose artists and educate people about the need for art in the community,” said Harris, who has run the learning and tutoring programs on 78th Avenue for two years.

Bill McClure, a landscape painter and window designer, has lived in Glendale for a year and said that the creation of an art night is welcome news.

“It’s wonderful because we need places for artists to communicate and there’s nothing in the Glendale area,” he said.

Since moving to Glendale, McClure has had to leave the neighborhood to showcase his work.

But with the new venue, McClure, 52, plans to exhibit his work locally.

Harris, who has lived in Glendale for 20 years, is asking people who want to watch the music and poetry show to make a $10 donation.

Harris has a personal devotion to the arts, having written several books, including “Living With Rage,” which recounts the domestic violence she experienced.

“The arts were my salvation, my sanity,” she said. “That’s why I have this dream of the art program. I want people to talk about what art helps them with.”

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