The LaFate Gallery, located in LOMA shopping district of Wilmington, Delaware, is the marquee…read morelocation for Folk Art at its finest. The Artist, Eunice LaFate, is a warm soul who greets her visitors with warmth and excitement. She takes you on a visual journey in explaning the inspirations and stories behind each masterpiece she has created. She also engages with her visitors encouraging them to find their own inner artist. I definitely recommend this as a "place to stop and shop" on Market St. Her various art offerings appeal to any budget and you'll walk away with art that you know was created from the heart.

I'm a Delaware Art Museum member so I must say it is one of the best decisions that I have made in…read morerecent years joining. I have visited the museum many times over decades but in the last two years since joining, I've probably visited just as much as I did in all the time prior. There's quality diverse program on top of the standing exhibits in the galleries and visiting ones. I am a born Wilmingtonian and have always enjoyed culture and the arts, which again is why I have frequented this museum many times before, but I think it's a jewel that many locals neglect to appreciate. You don't have to go to the larger regional cities for acclaimed artists as many are here. The proximity to other places of interest in the area, can allow you to enjoy this and many others during a day or weekend trip if you're not local or live outside of the city. Join the mailing list and check the events because there is always something going; the images on my review are from a few of them. I keep saying I'm there so much I should join the team, but this is my way of supporting in sharing this review.

Decided to visit this museum this past Thursday as it was later in the day and a search revealed…read morethat they were open until 8pm on Thursdays (photo attached). Approximately an hour into our visit we were ushered out of one of the exhibits on the first floor and told that exhibit would be closing. Thought it was odd that a particular exhibit in the museum would be closing early, but we complied, simply moving on to other exhibits. At approximately 4:20 we were in a room on the second floor and the lights suddenly went out (pitch black, can't see your hand in front of your face, darkness). We were stunned for a moment before using our phone flashlights to safely exit. We were then met at the door by a confused staff member who stated that the museum had actually closed at 4pm. We began making our way toward the exit, explaining that the website listed that the hours were until 8pm on Thursdays. We were then stopped by a second employee who accused us of having entered the room *after* the lights had been turned off (because, as everyone knows, the best way to view art is in total darkness). She then said that we had already been informed that the museum was closing. ("Exhibit" and "museum" mean different things.) We explained once again that the website listed Thursdays' hours until 8pm. Rather than appreciate the confusion (much less apologize for the communication error), she insisted that we must have been looking at the hours for the following week (not true) and added a superfluous directive to leave (as we were literally stepping toward the exit). Up to this point, we had been enjoying our visit. However, this rude encounter certainly marred our experience

A great studio located in a beautiful and serene area. I attended the annual holiday sale and…read morestudio show and met most of the artists. There is a wide variety of art including photography, oil painting, ceramics, wood craft, sculpture, and knit wear. This studio has a very friendly and cozy atmosphere that is buzzing with creativity. I highly recommend anyone in the area stop by when they have open studio hours.

Visited this museum during their free day (First Sunday of the month) to check out the exhibit for…read moreJerrell Gibbs: No Solace in the Shade. Such a beautiful space ! I can imagine weddings taking place in their courtyard area. The staff was helpful as it was my first time. It's a small but delightful museum, only three floors and the construction of the building itself is very compact and curved. It was great to see the river and the sun shining in through the large windows as you walk up to the top floor. The main exhibit was on the top floor and it was thoughtfully curated with black walls that made the artwork just pop! I was able to pick up a few art prints in their gift shop on the way out. Ample parking but in the free days can fill up fast. Definitely stop in if local or just visiting !

My friends and I spent a rainy afternoon at the Brandywine Museum of Art. Adult tickets were $20…read more We had no problem finding parking in their lot out front. It's a lovely space, it looks like it'd be a great spot for a wedding. There are three floors of art to explore here. Their special exhibit was on the third floor. My favorite exhibit to explore was the illustrators exhibit. I loved the storybook art. We spent over an hour exploring all the fine art here. It got packed by the end of our visit. They were also doing a tour of the grounds. They have a cafe and a huge gift shop here too.

Wilmington, DE - we visited several du Pont estates during our stay in the beautiful Brandywine…read moreValley area, starting with the Hagley Museum, which is the place of the first du Pont family home, built by the French immigrant ancestor who started it all, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont. We toured the house (Eleutherian Mills) and garden, powder yard, saw a small antique car exhibit, a gunpowder demonstration, and strolled around the grounds, which are very walkable and well-shaded in parts, but there is also a shuttle that travels between the main areas (visitor center/museum, house, powder yards) which runs every 20 minutes. The property is impeccably maintained and gorgeous to walk around, bordered by the Brandywine River where we saw some kayakers row by (for paddlers & outdoor enthusiasts: you can do this as an activity in the area). Everything was SO well-organized, and the tour guides & staff could not have been more lovely or helpful. They helped us time-manage our tours (as we arrived late in the day and were in a bit of a rush) and were generous with answering questions and sharing information about the history of the place and of the du Pont family. ======= TIP: If you love museums and historic homes & gardens and plan to visit at least a couple, the best thing you can do is purchase a Brandywine Treasure Trail Passport ($49 for individuals, or $99 for family including 2 adults & 3 children 17yo and under), which grants you admission to 12 area attractions that you can visit once any time between May 24-October 31. (This year is almost over but you can still buy the 2025 pass or wait for 2026 to be released.) There were many enterprising du Pont descendants/cousins, and the multiple grand estates in this area were built/owned by different branches of the family: in addition to Hagley there is also Winterthur, Nemours, Mt. Cuba Center, and Longwood Gardens - all of which are included in the passport. I find these properties to be more impressive than the Newport RI mansions, and highly recommend visiting as many as you can!

We did not have this museum on our radar until we learned about it when touring the nearby Nemour…read moreEstate. It helped that with our reciprocal museum membership we got free admission! It was already 2pm when we arrived so we had limited time. We walked the road to see the machine shop demo and the powder rolling demo by Bob. Both were quite interesting especially the big bang finish of the powder rolling demo. Learned a lot! Given it was late and way too hot to walk up the hill we skipped the house tour which looked interesting. We opted for the AC in the visitor center and the very educational two floor exhibit on patent models. Nerdy. Overall a big thumbs up for this museum.

This was not on our list of museums to hit but since the weather was so darn hot we changed what we…read morewere going to do after spending the morning at Longwood Gardens. It helped that we got free admission with our reciprocal museum membership. It was 2:30pm we when we arrived so we didn't have a lot of time. We were given good advice on what to do in our limited time from the folks at the ticket office. We took the garden tram tour which was educational and got off at the house where we did the self guided tour. You only see a small fraction of this giant mansion but that was enough for me. While most of the docents had interesting facts the actual contents of the collection were not that interesting to me. If you are really into this era of American decorative furnishing supposedly they have more in-depth guided tours. We still had time to see a bit more of the grounds around the house but with big thunderstorms rolling in we headed out. I am guessing for some this place is a must... I am glad we got free admission.

I visited Winterthur for the first time with my mom on Christmas Eve for their Yuletide exhibit…read more I'd been mildly curious about the mansion over the years, and it seemed like a fun thing to do on my day off from work. The mansion is ornate, truly massive, and opulent. It's a true peek into the lifestyles of the rich. The Yuletide theme this past year was centered around Christmas and children's books, like Alice and Wonderland, Twas the Night Before Christmas, etc. When we arrived, we were a bit confused on where to park, as my mom has a handicap sticker. We ended up parking right at the visitor's center where the tram retrieves guests. We didn't have a long wait. On the tram, the driver recommended starting at the house and then walking down to the galleries. She didn't mention the enchanted woods/garden, so I didn't even realize they were there until I got home later that night -- bummer. Some of the folks working the rooms were pleasant, others felt like security guards. One chided my mom for leaning her hand against a wall at one point. Some were knowledgeable, and others clearly didn't want to be there. I appreciated the girl in the garden entry room who snapped our photo with the decorated trees before we stepped into the house! I took many pictures while in the house, and then we traipsed over to the galleries. The gallery building had a doll house, a really well-done gingerbread train station, furniture and other exhibits on the ground floor, and a rotating, very interesting exhibit on African American history on the second floor. After the galleries, we stopped by the museum store, and while most everything was dramatically overpriced, I did find a few cool items in my price range. We were on the grounds for roughly 2-3 hours I'd say before having lunch nearby. Arriving early was a good choice. They do offer reciprocal garden access with other garden memberships (I have one at home in Richmond, VA), so perhaps one day I'll use that access to see the gardens that I missed!

This hidden gem is worth finding for a number of reasons!…read more First is the self-guided garden tour with a dozen sections where you can enjoy all manner of growing things from vegetables to flowers to trees native to the area. Next is the community art gallery. This lovely space where one wall is glass offers a rotating exhibit of horticultural-related works of fine art, some of which are for sale. An opening reception is held the evening of the first Friday of each month when visitors can meet the artist. Otherwise, regular hours are 9 AM to 5 PM. Third is the architecture. The main building, once a 19th. century row house, has won awards for its transformational design into the DCH headquarters with a public horticultural library, meeting, classroom and office space, and art gallery. In addition there's a pavilion constructed of recycled timber from the Sardo Warehouse on the Christina River, salvaged balustrades form the Van Buren Street bridge, a 1904 horse trough originally located in Kirkwood Park, lampposts formerly located in Brandywine Park, an old millstone and Belgium blocks found on site during renovation, an artistic garden gate incorporating antique gardening tools, courtyard walls built of 1930's WPA project bricks, and locally made mosaics on the terrace. A not-for-profit organization, DCH is dedicated to cultivating a greener community. Membership benefits include discounts on educational programs and at local garden centers, and opportunities to volunteer. Inside and outside, the garden and center are available for wedding, social, and business functions.

My teen son and I were just exploring while taking my baby niece for a walk. We popped into this…read moregallery not realizing they were interviewing Maurice Evans. We didn't know of this artist before that day, but spending just a few minutes with his art, we became fans. His work is stunning. Like a perfect meal, a great piece needs to have a balance between sizes and shapes, textures and colors. In his latest series, you see him hone his art to precision. Thank you Bridge Art Gallery for bringing such amazing works to Wilmington!