“Celebrating Contemporary Art in Alabama: The Biennial 2015” opens at the Johnson Center for the Arts today as one of the art center’s most popular exhibitions.

A variety of media by 43 top Alabama arts will be featured in the Johnson Center’s fourth biennial exhibit and will fill all eight galleries of the art center.

“We are extremely pleased to have the artwork of 43 of Alabama’s top artists on exhibit under one roof,” said Vicki Pritchett, Johnson Center executive director. “The featured artists are current and past recipients of prestigious Visual Arts and Fine Crafts Fellowships from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Several of the artists have received the award more than one time. This is a very prestigious group of artists.”

The artists are from 15 Alabama counties and represent a wide variety of media and themes.

“Media in the exhibition run the gamut from paintings and sculptures to photography, installations, textiles, forged metal, clay and basketry,” Pritchett said. “The exhibit features three local artists, Walter Black, Duane Paxson and Larry Percy along with 40 other artists, most of whom have exhibited at the Johnson Center previously.”

The artists will be honored at an opening reception from 2 until 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9 and the public is invited.

“It is always fun to meet the artists and interesting to hear them talk about their artwork and their inspiration for it,” Pritchett said. “These 43 participating artists are not just highly recognized here in Alabama but all around the country. We are honored to have them here and are expecting ‘Celebrating Contemporary Art in Alabama: The Biennial 2015’ to be a very popular exhibit.”

Pritchett said the exhibition is sponsored in part by the Alabama State Council on the Arts with support from the National Endowment of the Arts.

“With their support, we are able to bring outstanding art exhibits like this to the Johnson Center,” she said. “We are most appreciative of ASCA’s support.”

The opening reception for “The Biennial 2015” will be the culminating event of a fun-filled arts weekend sponsored by the Johnson Center for the Arts.

On Saturday night, Aug. 8, the Johnson Center will host the Sock Hop at The Studio from 7 p.m. until. The Fabulous Shades will be the featured band.

“Most members of the Shades are from Troy so they have a large fan base,” Pritchett said. “They play danceable music from the 1960s and 1970s and that’s the kind of music that is perfect for sock hopping. So, we invite everyone who loves the sixties kind of music and loves to dance or just sit and listen to join us for the Sock Hop at the Studio on August 8.

Sips on the Square will have a cash bar at the Sock Hop.

Tickets for the Sock Hop are $20 or $15 for Johnson Center members. Tables for eight are $150 and may be purchased at the Johnson Center for the Arts at 300 East Walnut St. or by calling 334-670-2287.

The Johnson Center for the Arts is open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and until 3 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is free.