OCEAN CITY, MD — March 25, 2025 — The Art League of Ocean City invites the public to the First Friday art openings on April 4 from 5-7 p.m. at the Ocean City Center for the Arts on 94^th St. bayside and at two nearby satellite galleries. Admission is free. 

To celebrate the Manga and Anime exhibit opening on First Friday at the Arts Center, the Art League is encouraging Cosplay at the event – dressing in costumes inspired by characters from popular culture sources like movies, TV, video games, and comics – and will award prizes for the best costumes. 

The Thaler Gallery hosts “Points of Juxtaposition” featuring the work of six African-American artists from the Eastern Shore who find inspiration from life in America and from an older African consciousness. The title comes from the work that, like the points of a compass, covers their many visual points of view and reflects a culmination of more than 190 years of experiences and perspectives.

Tony Burton of Felton De. is a cartoonist at heart and draws his life observations in a comedic way. A graduate of Delaware State University and Delaware College of Art and Design, he taught for 40 years in Bridgeville, De. and also teaches Tai Chi. 

Alexander Gamble was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., received his BA in art from Delaware State University, and is now part of Studio IXOII in Wilmington, De. His digital and print media art is a combination of circumstance and the recall of events past.

Kenneth Jones of Salisbury Md. is a graphite artist and photographer. As a young boy, Jones struggled with oral communication and expression. His pencil work involves the creation of sociopolitical subjects and commentary. As a photographer, he focuses on discarded and forgotten things. 

Michael J. Morris of Salisbury Md. is a retired art educator of 40 years and a painter, graphic artist, printmaker, and photographer. He works under the name Mijomor and uses his four disciplines to create mixed media art with an illustrative style.

Ernest Satchell of Princess Anne, Md. received his degree from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and worked for Boeing Aircraft before pursuing Masters Degrees in the arts. He began taught at UMES from 1971-2010 and is known for throwing very large pots, raku vessels, and sculptures.

Carl Williams of Wilmington, De. works with collage, lines and shapes, acrylics, inks and natural materials to evoke self-reflection by the viewer. His work is graphic and design-oriented, influenced by the graphics work he produced for Dupont Corp. 

The Corporate Partner Juried Group Show, an annual exhibition to honor the corporate partners of the Art League of Ocean City, will be on display in The Sisson Galleria. The Art League receives support from more than 50 local businesses that have signed up to be corporate partners. “Our corporate partnerships are vital to keeping the Ocean City Center for the Arts up and running, and this is our way, once a year, to thank them for their support,” Rina Thaler, executive director, said. 

The Schwab Spotlight Gallery hosts UMES associate professors Elvin Hernandez, Brad Hudson and Collin Byrd, and celebrates Manga and Anime styles of animation originating in Japan, characterized by stark, colorful graphics depicting fantastic or futuristic themes. 

Hernandez of Salisbury, Md. earned his MFA in Sequential Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and his EdD in Higher Education from Argosy University. He is a long-time educator and practicing freelance artist in the field of comics and commercial art, working for Toys R Us, DC Entertainment, Marvel, FX, and Cartoon Network. 

Hudson of Mardela Springs, Md. publishes his own comics under the moniker of Coldstream Studios, developing characters such as Rocket Girl and Dark Crusader. He produces work for, among others, Topps Trading Cards, including StarWars, The Walking Dead, Mars Attacks, and more. 

Byrd of Salisbury, Md., who is also the Art League’s Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, works in 2D animation, sequential art, and 3D sculpting and printing. Byrd is constantly experimenting with the limits of artistic digital creation tools.

The student portion of the Manga and Anime show will also open on First Friday and continue through the weekend, Apr. 4-6. The Art League developed this exhibit to promote creativity among students outside formal art programs and to increase community awareness of the Manga and Anime art form. Students in middle, high school, and higher education submitted entries judged by Byrd, Hernandez, and Hudson. Art League Past President John Sisson and James Dufendach of Ocean City Comic Con are sponsoring cash and other prizes. 

Studio E exhibit showcases the work of the Creative Hearts program that includes artists who participate in the Salvation Army of Delaware’s developmental disabilities program, started in 2007 by Director Christy Cugno and art teacher and mentor Barbara Buford. 

The Artisan Showcase features artwork in clay by Lisa Chambers of Lewes, De. Chambers handmakes and hand-paints red stoneware with a white liquid clay over the top, and also handmakes and hand-colors the glaze.

The Burbage Staircase Gallery continues an exhibit by Abi Lightner. The Princess Royale satellite gallery, 9100 Coastal Hwy., hosts a new exhibit by photographer Angela Vinson, who specializing in capturing the beauty of everyday moments. 

The Coffee Beanery satellite gallery at 94^th St. and Coastal Hwy. also opens a new show, displaying the work of Patricia Elmes Farley, a full-time textile and paper artist, sometime writer and storyteller, who lives on Chincoteague Island.

The Arts Center shows will be on display through April 26; the satellite galleries, through June 28. More information is available at OCart.org or by calling 410-524-9433.

The Art League of Ocean City is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the visual arts to the community through education, exhibits, scholarship, programs and community art projects. Funding for this event is in part provided by the Worcester County Arts Council, Maryland State Arts Council and the National Endowment of the Arts, organizations dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.