The annual silent auction at AVA Gallery and Art Center, in Lebanon, opens Saturday for a week of free previews and early-bird bidding. Donated works from artists, craftspeople and local businesses will include paintings, photographs, sculpture, mixed-media, jewelry and furniture. Final bidding will take place at the Silent Auction Party on April 7, from 5 to 8 p.m., for which the admission fee is $35 for members and $45 for non-members in advance, or $50 at the door. This price includes one drink ticket. Bidders can win items at anytime during the week by offering the “buy it now” amount. Proceeds from the auction support AVA’s art programming. For admission and more information, call AVA at (603) 448-3117 or purchase online at avagallery.org/silent-auction.
Kathy Swift’s show of “Japanese Ink Paintings on Paper” opens at Lyme’s Converse Free Library on Monday. Swift, who lives in Lyme, has been exploring two centuries-old techniques: sumi-e, or black-on-white paintings, and suminagashi, or ink marbling. Ten percent of sales will go toward Friends of Lyme Library. Through June 30.
“Petroglyphs, Flora and Frenzied Encounters: The Hand-Pulled Prints of Betsey Garand” opens Monday at White River Gallery at South Royalton’s BALE Commons. Garand, who lives in Hancock, N.H., showcases a variety of techniques including woodcut, monotype, and spit-bite and lift-ground aquatint. There will be a reception and artist talk May 5, from 4 to 6 p.m. Through June 15.
Of Note
The Library Arts Center, in Newport, N.H., invites submissions to its seventh annual Peeps Diorama Contest.
Dioramas must fit inside a shoebox and will be judged for creativity and artfulness. Entries can be dropped off between Saturday and next Thursday.
An opening reception will take place at a “Peeps Party” on Friday evening, at which contest winners will also be announced. All dioramas will stay up through April 7.
To download an entry form and learn more about the contest, including submission guidelines and event details, visit libraryartscenter.org/peeps.
Early-bird registration is open for this summer’s International Comics and Medicine Conference. The August 16-18 event series, which explores the intersection between comics and health care discourse, will be hosted by the Center for Cartoon Studies, in White River Junction, with support from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.
This year’s workshops, discussions, exhibits and lectures will explore the idea of “graphic medicine” through the theme of “The Ways We Work,” inspired by one of this year’s keynote speakers, Norwich resident David Macaulay, who is perhaps best known for his visual guides to machines and the human body in The Way Things Work and The Way We Work.
Early-bird registration is open until April 15, and costs $105. General registration is $125. To register and learn more, visit cartoonstudies.org/comicsandmedicine.
Ongoing
Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction. “VoxSomnium,” an exhibition of mixed-media work by Norwich artist Laura Di Piazza, is presented in conjunction with the Vermont Pastel Society’s group exhibition and Northern Stage, the theater company that calls the Barrette Center home. Through May.
BigTown Gallery, Rochester, Vt. A retrospective exhibition of paintings by Nancy Taplin, of Warren, Vt., is on view through Saturday.
Center for the Arts, New London. Exhibits in micro-galleries at Lake Sunapee Bank, the New London Inn and Whipple Hall are on view through April 30.
Converse Free Library, Lyme. Thetford ceramicist Amanda Ann Palmer’s show, “Recent Explorations in Clay,” includes rustic pieces as well as items from Palmer’s “Relics” series, inspired by seed pods. Ten percent of art sales will go toward the Friends of Lyme Library. Through Friday.
Howe Library, Hanover. Lebanon artist Sue Wheeler’s show of abstract work, “Immersive Tactiles,” is on view in the Ledyard Gallery through May 2.
Kilton Public Library, West Lebanon. Art by Lebanon Middle School students is up through March. Work by Mount Lebanon Elementary School students will be shown from April 5 through May.
Long River Gallery and Gifts, White River Junction. A show of black-and-white and color photographs by John Lehet, of Hartland, shows through May 31.
Norwich Public Library. “Spring Around the Upper Valley,” a show by the Odanaksis artist group, shows through April 27.
Orford Social Library. “Made in Orford,” an exhibition of work by Orford artists and artisans, shows through April 19.
Osher at Dartmouth, Hanover. “Pilgrims, Parades and Politics,” a show of photographs of Ireland and Northern Ireland by Herb Swanson, of Lyndonville, Vt., continues through April 26.
Taylor Gallery, Kimball Union Academy, Meriden. “The Golden Age of Haitian Art: Late ’80s and Early ’90s” is on view through April 7.
Two Rivers Printmaking Studio, White River Junction. “Body Language,” a collaboration in poetry and prints by Norwich residents Don and V. Shalvah Herzberg, respectively, is on view through Saturday.
Zollikofer Gallery, White River Junction. South Royalton artist Cecily Herzig shows recent paintings in “Dark Botanicals and Swamp Nonsense.” Through Saturday.
EmmaJean Holley can be reached at ejholley@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.