Almost Circle Gallery opens in Biloxi

Friday marked the official opening of the new Almost Circle Gallery in Biloxi. It is in a house in the Rue Magnolia Arts District. The opening event was part of First Friday event series that occurs every other month in the Vieux Marche.

The gallery will display drawings, paintings and sculptures from a rotating roster of Coast and regional artists .

Co-owners Julia Reyes and Brandy Waltman spent months staging the space to make it the most it can be.

“The name Almost Circle is from a drawing that Julia created,” said Reyes, “and basically means the almost-circle is always open and never complete so people can feel like they can always come and join in. It’s about leaving room for growth and evolution.”

The pair wanted to make sure their space would work for exhibiting art but also for workshops and seminars. They plan to rotate exhibits every few months to ensure the gallery remains interesting and to allow more artists’ works to be featured.

Waltman’s husband, Chris, restores vintage radios, fans and other old electrical items to working order. He has repaired and restored some old Westinghouse fans, and has installed mp3-player compatibility in an old Westinghouse radio.

Area artists see the new gallery as filling a much-needed role in the Biloxi community

“I think there are already good galleries on the bookends of the Coast,” said Biloxi sculptor Stacy Johnson, “you know, Bay St. Louis and Ocean Springs. But we don’t really have that much of a presence for real art galleries in Biloxi so this is huge.

“Its a great place for contemporary art and for artists from all over the state. It’s very important to the community.”

The next Almost Circle gallery event will be a digital photography editing class with area photographer William Colgin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

This story was originally published July 2, 2016 at 6:44 PM with the headline "Almost Circle Gallery opens in Biloxi."