Lemon Tree Gallery

Lemon Tree Gallery and Studio, which opened in April of 2016, serves as another vibrant venue for Arts Enter's programming and education. 

​

After serving in the non-profit sector for 20 years, Clelia Cardano Sheppard opened Lemon Tree with a mission to create a space that connects the community to unique art, friends, and events, while offering a home to the two sister non-profits, Arts Enter Cape Charles and GEAR (Global Exchange Arts Roundtable), which houses Experimental Film Virginia. 

​

After nearly three decades of living on Virginia's Eastern Shore, Clelia still feels nostalgia for her native Italy —the art, the landscape, the savoring of life's pleasures. The Lemon Tree collection consists of over 60 local and regional artists anchored by four resident artists: Clelia Sheppard, Thelma Peterson, Bethany Simpson, and David Turner. The Gallery curates four shows per year, each featuring collective and solo exhibitions. As a lover of art and beauty, Clelia carefully curates the paintings, sculptures, jewelry, and gifts for the discerning buyer.

​

Fridays at Lemon Tree creates a vibrant, multi-purpose space that invites patrons to linger, engage, discuss, and connect. This model follows the creative place-making formula presented by the National Endowment for the Arts, which aligns with the Main Street program in Cape Charles.We have re-opened the door between the Lemon Tree Gallery and the Historic Palace Theatre to further enable exchanges with all disciplines under one roof. 

​

Our philosophy at Lemon Tree is that art helps you savor life. Whether you're feeling that Chesapeake Bay breeze as you sip a glass of wine on our patio, taking an art class, enjoying music on our stage, participating in a Conversation Cafe, or falling in love with a painting that makes your heart race, time spent at Lemon Tree is a guaranteed dose of Sorrento sunshine—right here in Cape Charles.