Love Always Wins, Michael Campagna, is among the works featured at this year’s Unionville Art Gala.
Unionville Art Gala is turning 50! This year the Unionville High School PTO is hosting a Golden Gala. The annual art show will showcase local working artists, Unionville High School (UHS) Alumni, and current UHS student artists. In addition to beautiful artwork, there will be live music to entertain and delicious desserts to enjoy. Funds raised will benefit the UHS PTO, contributing to Enrichment Projects to enhance the overall educational experience for all UHS students, and will also help make local community outreach efforts possible.
The Unionville High School Art Gala strives to include a variety of artists – both new and more established individuals. Approximately 60 participating artists express their talents through diverse media including oil and watercolor paintings, photography, glass, metal, pastels, mixed media, jewelry, ceramics, mosaics, and wood.
We are thrilled to announce that this year’s Golden Gala will feature 5 artists.
● Michael Campagna (www.mcampagnapainter.com/) grew up in Chester County, PA, spending much of his time exploring open farmland, winding back roads, wooded hillsides, and shallow creeks. Michael has always found a source of quiet and balance from being outdoors, and painting is his way of returning to that sense of calm. Many of the landscapes that once defined this area are slowly being replaced by development. Through his work, Michael chooses to focus on places that feel familiar, grounded, and worth remembering — moments of light, season, and space that are becoming increasingly rare.
● Sarah Snyder-Dinsel (www.sarah-snyder-dinsel.com/about) is a dedicated Chester County artist with over a decade of participation in the Unionville Art Gala. Sarah’s artistic journey began with her passion for illustration, which led her to earn a BFA in Illustration from the University of Delaware. Her love of detail continues to guide her work today, whether she is painting beautiful local landscapes in a realistic style, capturing the unique spirit of beloved pets in her portraits, or creating hand-painted decorative pieces. While Sarah’s paintings are often influenced by her illustrative roots, she also enjoys exploring compositions that open up imaginative, limitless spaces, giving her work a playful and distinctive quality. From her home studio in Chester County, she continues to share her love of storytelling through art that is versatile, timeless, and deeply personal.
● Shawn Faust (www.shawnfauststudio.com/about) is not just an artist, but a custodian of nature‘s beauty. With an unyielding respect and deep reverence for the natural world, he channels his lifelong fascination with perception into remarkable works of art. Faust’s artistic journey is centered around the intricate dance between atmospheric light and the graceful forms of animals, which never fails to captivate and inspire him. Drawing from his classical training in oils, Faust embraces the rich traditions of portraiture as a symbolic homage to his subjects. Through his brushstrokes, he orchestrates a symphony of colors and textures, resulting in masterworks that seek to elevate the status and awareness of the creatures that share our planet.
● Carol Apicella is a mosaic artist. For years, her art revolved around mosaics and youth and donation requests for various non-profit organizations then it evolved into creating unique mosaics made of mixed media, often with a mirror element. Carol creates ceramic mosaic pieces from broken dishes and leftover tiles and collects interesting found objects such asbeads, bullet casings, or a piece of twisted copper wire found on a walk. She then turns these objects into exquisitely beautiful works of art filled with pops of color.
● World-renowned Belarusian-American sculptor and oil artist, Ales Shaternik (https://www.shaternikart.org/en/ales-shaternik/biography) has lived and worked in West Chester, PA since 2019. Well known Russian art critic and art collector, Alexander Glezer qualified Ales’ style as neo-impressionism. Ales works in decorative and monumental sculpture as well as other media. Ales’ monumental sculptures and memorial plaques can be seen on the streets of different European cities including Vilnius, Tallinn, Minsk, Moscow, and Pollock. Ales also paints in oil. Ales created multiple beautiful paintings of Eastern European and
North-American landscapes and a set of gorgeous paintings of Venice. Ales’ works were exhibited at the State Tretyakov Gallery (The National Museum of Russian Fine Art) in Moscow, the White House, and US Congress in Washington DC, Estonian Parliament in Tallinn, City Hall in Oslo, the Rutgers University, Zimmerly Art Museum in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the CASE Museum of Russian Contemporary Art in Jersey City, Belarusian Museum in Brooklyn, New York, the International Stella Gallery in Paris, to name a few.
The Art Gala also includes a Student Art section, highlighting the impressive artistic talents nurtured by the outstanding UHS Art Department. In addition to approximately 175 student artists, students who demonstrate particularly refined and distinct talents are selected as Featured Student Artists each year. This year’s Featured Student Artists will be announced in October.
Additionally, a Silent Auction will be offered to the public, featuring beautiful artwork donated by talented artists in the show as well as select regional activities and outings. Bidding commences on November 20 at 8 a.m. and closes at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 22. While auction items will be on display for viewing in-person at the Gala, all bidding for the Silent Auction will be online at www.32auctions.com/uhsart2026 ; bidders need not be present to bid or to win. Donations to the Silent Auction along with business sponsorships are key components to the success of the Gala. Please see our website at https://www.unionvilleartgala.com for details on how to donate a Silent Auction item and/or how to become a sponsor.
Friday evening includes live music from UHS students and local musicians, with assorted desserts and beverages offered for sale. Thirty percent of proceeds from art sales and 100% of proceeds from the Silent Auction benefit the UHS PTO. Admission is free.
The 2026 Unionville High School Art Gala begins Friday, November 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. and continues on Saturday, November 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Unionville High School Gymnasium Entrance, 750 Unionville Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348. Please note the change in entrance this year. For more details and information, please visit the Art Gala website at www.unionvilleartgala.com or find us on Facebook and Instagram. This fun and lively event is not to be missed!
