“Out of the Alley” Exhibition

On view at Arts Warehouse Back Gallery April 5 – April 20, 2024
Opening Reception April 5th – 20th, 2024. Free admission!

Art in the Alley is an annual community initiative of local artists creating art for the outdoors in Osceola Park, a residential neighborhood located in the Southeast district of Delray Beach. For more than a decade, there has been a quiet group of artists and neighbors changing the face of Delray’s oldest platted neighborhood. In 2024 over forty artists created new work that will soon adorn the Osceola Park alleyways. The Out of the Alley pop-up exhibition at Arts Warehouse is just a selection of the total number of works that will be installed outdoors in Osceola Park.

The Art in the Alley project was thought of and initiated in partnership between Osceola Park residents Lisa and James Quillan, and muralist and artist, Sharon Koskoff. The project was started to beautify the once overgrown and debris filled alleyways, a significant part of the landscape of the Osceola Park neighborhood. Neighbors in the area took pride in the newly art filled alleys, keeping them free of debris and maintained so that residents could use the alleys for walking, driving, and enjoying safely.

The project’s success is noted in it’s ten year long run with new paintings being created annually. Each year of Art in the Alley has a theme, and every artist is free to explore their creativity. This year’s theme was “Save the eARTh”, an appropriate one to be viewed in April, which includes Earth Day. There is a painting day each year when all participating Art in the Alley artists gather together to create their paintings. It becomes a celebration of community and art as the pieces come to life.

“An artist just wants their work to be seen, to be appreciated. It is such a joy for them to see how they’ve transformed this neighborhood,” explains Sharon Koskoff. The beauty of the group of works installed is the combination of gallery-ready images next to creative novice paintings that remind us all of the potential we have to bring joy to others.

There are now more than 8 alleys in the Osceola Park neighborhood that are adorned with paintings from the Art in the Alley Project. Crime is now a thing of the past, and litter rarely seen. In the last several years the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and City of Delray Beach have contributed to neighborhood improvements which included clearing and paving the alleys, furthering the safety and accessibility to these art-adorned areas. The neighbors enjoy having a unique characteristic to their little world.

For more information about Art in the Alley, visit ArtintheAlley.org