CELEBRATE FIRST NIGHT AT THE RIFFE GALLERY

The Ohio Arts Council's Riffe Gallery will help usher in the New Year during First Night Columbus, a community oriented, alcohol-free celebration for all ages that will showcase more than 500 visual and performing artists in Downtown Columbus. The Riffe Gallery will be open from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. December 31 for a special viewing of Quilt National '99, an international, juried exhibition of spectacular and innovative art quilts.

Gallery admission is free. Staff will be on hand to answer questions and assist visitors of all ages. There will be a free gift for children. Adults will be eligible for free entries in a raffle to win an original piece of art valued at more than $200 from Quilt National artist Susan Shie.

Celebrate the beginning of another wonderful year for the arts at the Riffe Gallery across from the Statehouse at the corner of State and High Streets. The gallery will be open during regular hours, 12 to 4 p.m., Sunday, December 31 and closed on New Year's Day.

Artist Archives of the Western Reserve in Cleveland will present 30 Years and Counting ... Prints from the Collection December 15 through February 23. There will be a public reception December 15 at 5 p.m. For more information call 216/721-9020.

Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati is presenting Scopophilia: Pleasure in Looking through March 25, 2001. Scopophilia is divided into five exhibition periods. The CAC is the first museum to mount a festival of installations of projected video that will require a complete renovation of its main gallery every month. For more information call 513/345-8415.

Out of Africa: Sub-Saharan Traditional Arts will open at the Dayton Art Institute December 16. The exhibition will feature nearly 300 objects from countries south of the Sahara including Sierra Leone, Ghana, Congo and Kenya. For more information call 937/223-5277.

A Bountiful Plenty from the Shelburne Museum: Folk Art Traditions in America is at the Columbus Museum of Art through February 7. The exhibition of nearly 90 paintings, quilts, sculpture and furniture, explores the original function of 18th and 19th century folk art and its role in the development of modern American art. For information call 614/221-6801.

Dairy Barn Southeastern Ohio Cultural Arts Center in Athens is seeking work in all media for its annual Art on View exhibition. Artists must live within a 200-mile radius of Athens. Entry forms with slides of work are due January 19, 2001. For more information or to request an entry form call 740/592-4981 or email info@dairybarn.org.

Great Lakes Performing Artist Associates will hold auditions for its 2001-2002 artist roster in Chicago on April 20, 2001, and in Ann Arbor April 24, 2001. This year, PAA is interested in auditioning brass soloists, piano trios, brass ensembles, string quartets and small ethnic ensembles. Applications must be postmarked by February 16. Contact Dave Claytor, 505 East Huron, Suite 302, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1567; 734/485-1331.