The Town Hall Theatre Lobby Gallery

Lafayette's historic Town Hall Theatre is dedicated to fostering a thriving community that brings together performing artists, students, and audiences through creative and accessible experiences. Since 2022, the theatre has also served as a venue for local art exhibitions, thanks to a collaboration that enables the City to expand its cultural arts programming. The gallery, open to the public during theatre hours, provides an inviting space for art lovers to appreciate and engage with the work of local artists. The theatre's warm and welcoming lobby is an ideal location for receptions, where the public can mingle with artists and fellow art enthusiasts.

My artwork unveils the hidden geometry that exists in the environment. I reveal this geometry by painting invisible ‘plumb lines’ between objects, and geometric shapes between overlapping lines. My artwork has often been in the style of depiction or abstraction, and I have been working to hybridize my development as a painter in both of these styles. In my pieces, I blend geometric abstraction with representation in order to display an intersection between the two. Humans have been inspired to organize our environments using geometry: in architecture, in engineering, and in machinery. To make this geometry visible in natural landscapes shows how it quietly and elegantly exists without human interference.

Nature has always been the source of inspiration for my artwork. In 2017, I started to catch glimpses of how geometry lies invisibly and inherently in any scene I encounter. A triangle can be found in the crook of a tree, or the summit of a mountain peak; a diamond shape might reveal itself in the intersection of grasses or in foliage. These invisible threads form the geometry that I paint.

When I paint, I make both intentional and also spontaneous decisions about where to incorporate geometry, as well as how I can use colors that stray from reality. I place the colors and brushstrokes as a process of exploring my sub-consciousness as a painter. There is a constant push and pull, a tension created when painting in an observational and simultaneously abstract style. This has allowed me to discover that these two forms of art can coexist in one painting. I have found freedom from traditionally 'abstract' art or 'realistic' art by synthesizing the two in my work.

For inquiries: jennahobbs.com

How to Apply

Exhibits are selected by the City of Lafayette Public Art Committee. Artists interested in displaying artwork must submit a complete Exhibit Packet, including executed Art Gallery Release, an exhibition statement and an artist biography. Please contact Public Art Liaison Jenny Rosen for more information.

Applications shall be reviewed by the Public Art Committee at its regular monthly meetings. Scheduling of exhibitions is dependent upon availability. No alternate works may be substituted for accepted works.

---

Space and Guidelines

The gallery wall dimensions are 19' long x 7' high. All artwork must be suitably framed and equipped with hanging apparatus (D rings and wire) that will enable the artwork to be installed on the Gallery’s picture rail hanging system. Work that is fragile in nature or whose framing or display arrangement is of questionable durability may be rejected. Absolutely no nails, hooks, and/or mounting tape will be allowed to install any exhibit.

---

Location

• The Town Hall Theatre, 3535 School St. (at Moraga Rd.), Lafayette, CA 94549
• www.townhalltheatre.com

---

Hours

The gallery is open to the public when there are public events occurring in the Town Hall Theatre.

Artist Talk with Bushra Gill

On April 29, the Town Hall Theatre was nearly filled to capacity for a special Artist Talk with Bushra Gill, presented by the Public Art Committee as part of the increasingly popular Poetry for the Ages program, now in its second year. Gill, an artist with roots in Karachi and Texas, captivated the audience with reflections on how Lafayette’s natural landscape—its towering trees, golden hills, and shifting light—inspires her creative process. She spoke about the unseen networks in nature and how they inform her work, which blends sculpture, museum education, and curation. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with the artist following the talk.