News Photo by Darby Hinkley Art in the Loft gallery associate Rob Bruce hangs artwork by Rita Hess in preparation for the opening reception for “SummerView” to be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

ALPENA — Art in the Loft’s “SummerView” exhibit will open with an artists’ reception at 6 p.m. on Thursday, free and open to the public.

The artwork of 30 Michigan artists will be on display at the gallery through Sept. 6. All the artwork on display is also for sale, and as items are sold, the artists will bring in more to keep the display full, so people are encouraged to stop in multiple times throughout the summer.

Thursday’s reception will feature a chance to meet with artists, view the artwork while enjoying live music by Doug Haines, and snacks and a cash bar will be available.

“A lot of our artists, especially ones that are more local to the area, will be on hand talking about their artwork, and describing their process,” said Justin Christensen-Cooper, Art in the Loft executive director. “It kicks off our summer season at Art in the Loft.”

He said the artwork encompasses a wide variety of mediums, including painting, glass, oils, acrylic, jewelry, photography, pen and ink, enamel, beach glass, pastels, mixed media, ceramics, woodworking, and more.

“The nice thing about it is everything is handmade,” Christensen-Cooper said. “It’s local talents being on exhibit. The summer show is really neat, because it does lend itself to visitors. We are working with the Viking Cruises this summer, so we’re going to have them coming in about 15 or 16 times for classes, and our artists are going to benefit from that, too, because they get to take a keepsake home from northern Michigan,” he said of the cruise ship visitors.

He added that items at the gallery range in price from $2 up to hundreds, so there are many price ranges to choose from.

Artists in “SummerView” include: Abigail Adams, Beth Cox, Beth Preston, Cheryl Lemke, Chuck Schroeder, Dorothea Sandra, Elissa Sweet, Jan Herring, Janice Dumas, Jessica Adams, Juliane Richards, Kamara Marsh, Kathy Bower, Kendra Gagnier, Kevin Englund, Leanna Springer, Louis Demarrais, Melissa Smith, Michael and Mieko Kahn, Peggy Little, Sharon Wade, Terry Lowell, Rita Hess, Hannah Harte, Pamela O’Neil, Marilyn Bachelor, Mary Lightner, Steve Petrides, and Stella Johnson.

Art in the Loft is located on the third floor of the Center Building at 109 N. 2nd Ave. in downtown Alpena. Normal hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.