East Lawrence came to life Friday night at three venues with the opening of the first Art from the East Side celebration.

Andrew Hadle sets up some stencil art signs to direct passersby in the 900 block between Rhode Island and New Jersey to the East Lawrence art event featuring artists from age 3 to 93 who live and or work in the community east of Massachusetts Street. The multimedia and non-juried neighborhood event continues through Sunday.

The art show will continue from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. today and Sunday and resume April 22-23.

On Friday night inside Kansas Key Press, 900 N.J., drawings, paintings, sculptures and other items filled the walls and tables. Many of the featured artists were from the neighborhood, including some New York School students.

Various music acts took over a microphone and played as dozens of people viewed the art pieces and mingled.

Several neighborhood artists had hoped to put together this type of event for some time.

“Lawrence is just full of color. All of these people do all of these many things,” Lawrence artist Charlotte Pessoni said. “This is just a way to get our community out talking to each other, seeing each other and crossing paths.”

The show is not judged, but some artists have put their items up for bidding. Organizers are asking that 5 percent of the proceeds from the event benefit an art project at New York School, 936 N.Y.

Other venues for the event are Dave Loewenstein’s 4-1-1 Studio, at 411 E. Ninth St., and the Solidarity Center and Library, 1109 Mass.

“It’s kind of a reflection on East Lawrence and Lawrence in general. There’s so many events that just happen,” City Commissioner Mike Rundle said. “It’s also a reflection of how East Lawrence has been kind of underappreciated. Some people have looked on it in past decades as sort of a throwaway place. There’s just a lot of richness there.”

As a guitar player began offering his music from the playground of New York School on Friday evening, two former Lawrence residents sat in a tree and listened.

“This is why I came back to town – just for a nice little community event like this,” said Brett Ramey, of Flagstaff, Ariz.

“It doesn’t feel like an art show. It feels more like an old-school block party,” said Erica Harper, who now lives in Mexico.