Gallery Night is a monthly event in Pensacola, FL where many artists come together to show off their talent with live shows and food trucks. This month, they’re celebrating the Lunar New Year with the featured artists: Akiko Yamamoto and Yen Shan Lien.
Yamamoto is the Japan Outreach Initiative Coordinator for The University of West Florida. She wants to promote the culture of Japan with programs and workshops for many different traditions. “I will do the Japanese calligraphy demonstration,” Yamamoto said. “We in Japan have three characters, the Chinese character, Katakana character and Hiragana character.”
She continues to talk about the potential that an event like this can have on being able to share different cultures. “This is the first time we’ve been here, but I hear that many people visit here to enjoy some kind of event and this month, the theme is Lunar Year,” Yamamoto said. “I want to join this event to introduce the history of the Asian country and culture from Japan.”Lien did an umbrella dance with her Chinese class. She also has a program where she teaches Mandarin to students at UWF with the beginner course having a free trial on Feb. 5 from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Lien believes this event to be a great way to express the different Asian cultures that are being presented at the event. “Gallery Night celebrated Lunar New Year and that’s very nice,” Lien said. “It’s not just defined by the Chinese New Year because in fact it’s not just in China, but also in Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and Vietnam. It’s celebrated in many Asian countries so I think it’s very inclusive and all the different countries can really showcase their traditions.”
They agreed that Gallery Night is a perfect opportunity for artists to come make money off of their work. Asking the vendors who participated in this event illustrates this exact power an event like this can hold.
The owner of “Flaura by Laura”, Laura Richards, talks about how this event has proven to be a great place for her to make money off of her products. “Gallery night is absolutely amazing,” Richards said. “It’s a space where various artists can come together and get their product out into the world.”
The many vendors throughout this event have sold all types of products including art pieces, decor, accessories, jewelry, food etc. Many business owners come to this event as a way to express themselves with their products all while making money off of it.
The owner of “The Grove”, Serena Woody, mentions how it provides a great opportunity for smaller artists to grow from public events like this. “So, Gallery Night for me as a small-time artist is a huge opportunity for us to meet new customers and to show off our trade to people who are coming specifically to see us.” Woody said. b
With the live events and vendors all throughout Palafox St., Gallery Night proves to be an important event that brings the community together for celebration.
