Thursday, October 1, 2026
There was a celebration of patriotism, art and community at Hive Market & Gallery on May 9, the opening night of Colors of Freedom: An Artistic Tribute to Patriots, a multi-faceted exhibition marking the gallery’s fourth anniversary, a rebranding and a heartfelt salute to the nation’s veterans.
The evening drew roughly 100 guests, including local artists, community members, local business owners, members of the Blue Star Mothers organization and several veterans, including Vietnam War veteran and Oyster Bay resident Phil Rhoads.
“I was amazed, absolutely amazed,” Rhoads, who attended the event’s ribbon-cutting at 6 p.m., said. “I went to Hive when (Laura) first got the building, and it looked nothing like this, but boy, when I was there Friday night, it was amazing.”
The exhibition was the first open-call art show hosted by Hive, which owner Laura Escobar rebranded in January to include a focus on fine art. The rebranding marks a shift in Escobar’s business from just a local artisan boutique to a community-centered gallery space embracing visual arts and cultural programming.
“It started with my four-year anniversary coming up on May 9,” Escobar said. “I rebranded in January to Hive Market and Gallery. I had this idea to incorporate a four-year ribbon-cutting because I rebranded, so it’s like a new beginning, and then do an open call to artists, which we’ve never done before.”
The theme of the exhibit, patriotism, emerged naturally. Escobar’s daughter, Arianna, is an active-duty Marine currently stationed in Hawaii, and with the reunion falling so close to Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day, she saw an opportunity to merge a celebration of Hive with a chance to support service members and their families.
Escobar partnered with Sue Herbst, her friend and gallery coordinator, to brainstorm the exhibition’s title as well as to plan and market it, and together they launched Colors of Freedom. It includes a diverse collection of works honoring American service members and ideals, many of them available for purchase.
“Aside from the beautiful spectrum of artwork and viewpoints in the show is the community inclusiveness that is part of Hive’s philosophy and mission statement,” Herbst wrote in a statement. “There are all types of artists included here, with greatly varying ages and artistic experiences and I think it’s a beautiful approach for a gallery to embrace and encourage everyone.”
A portion of each artist’s entry fee is being donated to Blue Star Mothers Inc., a nonprofit organization that supports military families and veterans. Escobar herself is a Blue Star Mother.
“We do fundraising, and we support veteran groups, and we march in parades,” she said, “so the event became a big explosion of four-year anniversary-slash-art exhibit opening.”
Guests sampled donated food from Sweet Tomato and Teddy’s Place, admired the artwork, and chatted with veterans. There were no formal speeches, aside from a brief welcome and remarks from Ravin Chetram, vice president of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of Commerce, during the ribbon cutting.
Among the works that stood out was a mixed-media collage titled “American Nostalgia,” by Valley Stream artist Olivia Franks. A first-time exhibitor, Franks discovered the open call while shopping at the gallery after the submission deadline had passed. After she explained her vision, Escobar welcomed her to the show.
“I am inspired to create patriotic art in memory of my grandfather, the United States Marine,” Franks wrote in an email to Escobar. “This piece of art … is called ‘American Nostalgia,’ poking nostalgic feelings from the past by collaging vintage matchbooks from all over the country. These little pieces of American history create an American flag ending with the matchbook stating ‘thank you’ as a way of thanking troops for their sacrifice and service.”
Franks’s piece was a crowd favorite, and Escobar and attendees like Rhoads saying that they and several others practically fought over who got to buy one of her pieces.
Franks, who considers herself mostly a creative writer, said the event helped validate her work in a new medium. She previously served as editor in chief of Adelphi University’s student newspaper, and has recently begun exploring visual storytelling through found objects and collage.
“I’m very new in this space,” Franks said. “So just having something like this, where I can express what my grandfather meant to me through art, and have it resonate with people — it meant a lot.”
The event also held deep meaning for Rhoads, who served in the Army during the Vietnam War.
“I was drafted when I was 18 years old, and I left Vietnam at 19 as a sergeant,” he said. “Now I’m going to be 78 in two months, so I’m still pretty active.”
Rhoads said he has been involved in numerous veterans organizations since returning from service, and was grateful to see the community come together in support of Blue Star Mothers.
“Laura’s a great person who really knows how to take care of business, and it was a great turnout.”
The gallery’s walls, normally filled with the work of individual artists, were transformed into a collective celebration of service and sacrifice, featuring both emerging and established talents. One artist from the Firefly Artists, an art collective in Northport, submitted a painting of a folded American flag, and many other used the flag and other motifs to symbolize service and sacrifice.
“I’m really humbled that these artists respected the Hive Market & Gallery as a gallery,” Escobar said. “Some of them have been working with Firefly for years, and they took a leap of faith to join this event.”
The exhibition will remain on view at Hive through May 31. Visitors can purchase most of the works on display, with proceeds partially benefiting Blue Star Mothers. Escobar hopes to continue building on the momentum of the event with future open calls and collaborative exhibits.
“You never know who’s going to show up,” she said. “But they came. And it was phenomenal.”
To learn more about Hive, visit their website at HiveMarketOB.com. To view and purchase the art from the show, visit the gallery at 100-102 Audrey Ave. in Oyster Bay.
