ANNETTE SYKES- President and Gallery Director
Annette Sykes is an objective painter who works in media ranging from oil to watercolor to pastels, especially when she is painting her favorite oceanscapes and cityscapes. She also works with a range of drawing materials especially when doing life drawing and portraiture. She works mostly from direct observation. As an observational artist, Annette draws and paints what she see. Annette has a studio at at the LynnArts building and is the Gallery Director for GALA (the Galleries At LynnArts). She has also been appointed to the Lynn Public Arts Commission. Annette studied fashion design in New York in the mid-90's but then transitioned to fine arts when she moved to to Boston. She worked at First Expressions, an art gallery just off Newbury Street, while she attended a post-baccalaureate course of studies in sculpture and textiles at the Massachusetts College of Art. In 2001 Annette graduated from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco with an MFA - focus on textiles. She then returned to the East Coast and settled in Lynn. Having now spent a third of her life in Lynn, teaching in Lynn Public Schools, Annette feels warmly connected to the community. She lives on the ocean with her husband, across from Kings Beach and Red Rock Park from which she draws much inspiration for plein air paintings.
ELIZABETH HALL-Vice President
Elizabeth Hall has been creating images with traditional techniques since she graduated from MassArt with a BFA in photography in 1992. But she has been inspired by all the advances of technology that have allowed her to have a digital camera and studio in her pocket, her iPhone. She is constantly looking for funky angles, different perspectives and using apps to create unique iPhoneography images. She is also the current Vice-President of GALA.
NICOLE WERTH-Treasurer
Nicole is the Treasurer of GALA, a Lynn artist, and owner of Nicole Werth Designs. She specializes in artwork based on natural themes sometimes in artificial environments, and manmade hardscapes. She attended Grinnell College where she received a degree in Anthropology. Her love of nature, scientific study, and cultural beliefs and norms colors her artwork. Generally, she will begin her artwork by fully immersing herself in a subject through print and in the field if possible. For her 2013 collection, she traveled the length of the Connecticut River from its start at the Canadian border to the mouth in Long Island Sound. She documented the plants and animals, as well as the impact of non-native and invasive species on the ecosystem. Her current body of work has tackled pollution, reusable resources, human’s impact on bird species, and the natural wonders of the North Shore. In 2018 she also began Nicole Werth Designs ECO, a line of environmentally friendly products and plastic alternatives.
TIA COLE -Secretary
Tia is a local artist and arts advocate as well as the current Secretary for GALA. Her passion for educating the community about the benefits of creativity has led to her facilitating multiple public art projects. She has dedicates her time to supporting the creative economy through community building and creative placemaking. You can find her working closely with; The Brickyard Collaborative, Artist Row Salem, Lynn Public Arts Commission and Salem Public Arts Commission. She is also the OASIS Project Manager and an instructor.
EMMANUELLE LE GAL-Board Member
Emmanuelle Le Gal is the Creative Director at Dreamworld Design, her own design studio and she is currently the graphic designer at GALA. Originally from Brittany, France, Emmanuelle came to Boston and studied at Massachusetts College of Art, focusing on a B.A. in Graphic Design. A practicing designer for more than twenty-five years, Emmanuelle began her career as a freelancer for Boston Magazine, Design Times, and Fox News. Fine Arts has always been an integral part of her life and she has returned to her first love through EmmanuelleArts. She now focuses on watercolors for their immediacy and simplicity. Emmanuelle’s work reflects her explorations and love for the natural world. From scenes of France to her own backyard, her work offers a trip around the world.
PATTY KLIBANSKY- Board Member
Patty’s art is inspired by her daily life and travels. She creates what she sees as well as works from her imagination,using a variety of art media such as oil and acrylic paints, inks, resins, papers, canvas and sculptural materials such as clay, glass and wire. The artist’s mantra: In our digital world, there is nothing more important than creation - not only through visual art but what we create through our relationships and mindsets with people everyday. Patty works in the Lynn Public School System. She attended UNH where she received a B.A. in Studio Arts as well as a double major in Latin, Greek and the Classical Humanities. She has a M.A. in Arts Education from Boston University and is a Doctoral Candidate at Northeastern University.
VIA- Board Member
SILVIA VIA™, please visit www.viasworld.com
MARIS PROST- Board Member
Maris Prost’s work was influenced by the art of Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Andy Warhol and the questioning of established norms during the “sixties”. Further moved by travel throughout the world she developed an appreciation for other cultures, their music and their art. To her, Lynn, Mass embodies this diversity and forward thinking. She is grateful to be part of it.
SHEILA GOLDEN- Board Member
Sheila Golden is an artist who works mostly in pastels. The purity of the color and easy application of the material is conducive to a quick painting with vibrant colors. It is also akin to drawing. She does life drawing in charcoal and pastel. She studied at Parsons School of Design and New York University.
LESLIE FAHN ROSENBERG- Board Member
For the past 20 years, Leslie has had a studio at LynnArts, Inc. where she can be found painting, drawing and sculpting full time, “working in series” of 10 to 50 or more pieces. She attended Carnegie Mellon University; Philadelphia College of Art; and Montserrat School of Art and received her BFA from Massachusetts College of Art in Graphic Design and Illustration. Leslie has been an active Fine Arts and Photography Member of Marblehead Arts Association; as well as ArtWorks. Leslie’s expertise extends beyond the creation of artwork and she has curated, installed, and formally critiqued numerous shows at LynnArts, in Marblehead, and the surrounding areas. She has taught art over the years at Marblehead Arts, Swampscott High School and in her studio. She has had several one woman and group shows at Marblehead Arts and Marblehead Library, Newton Free Library, Lynn Museum and LynnArts, as well as having her work shown at the Statehouse, Wentworth Institute of Technology and in the annex to the Peabody Essex Museum (for the Hat Show).
JESSICA JORDAN- Board Member
Originally from Maine, Jessica moved to Lynn almost 3 years ago and has been getting involved in the artist community and the Lynn Cultural Council. She started taking art lessons at age 12 and has been making he own art and crafts for over 25 years. While most often painting, jewelry making or sewing in her free time, she’s dabbled in mosaics, embroidery, knitting, metal stamping, typography and scrapbooking as well. Generally, a home hobbyists who enjoys making gifts for friends and family she’ll try making anything that strikes her fancy and loves trying new styles of painting.