Maggie Shaffer's parents made sure her artistic education began early.

"They would drag us to museums, they really wanted us to be exposed to a lot of cultures," said Shaffer, who grew up in Palmer Township and moved to College Hill as a teenager.

That education has paid off for Shaffer, leading first to internships in New York City with Eli Klein Fine Art, Cottelston Advisors and Christie's, and later to a role on the Bravo network's "Gallery Girls," a new documentary series that premieres tonight.

The show follows Shaffer and six other young women in Manhattan and Brooklyn as they try to make a name for themselves in the art world.

From gallery openings and art shows to the hottest events in the city, the women share a passion for art but are divided between their Manhattan and Brooklyn lifestyles with vastly different views and tastes towards fashion, art and men, the network said in a news release describing the show.

Shaffer said she has her own storyline on the show, but interacts with the other women as well.

"We're all going to the same parties and functions. We all work in the art world and it’s a very small community," she said, adding, "It’s a lot more drama than I thought. You can’t be as trusting as people as you thought."

She declined to go into more detail out of fear of giving too much away, saying only that she found that "people were very concerned with themselves."

Still, Shaffer said she hopes the show serves as an inspiration for other 20-something professional women.

Shaffer graduated from Easton Area High School and got degrees in Studio Art/Art History and English Literature from Lafayette College in 2010.

"When I moved to New York...I got my street art education," she said. "It’s really cool to see a graffiti murual on the side of the road and know who did it."

Gallery Girls premieres tonight at 10 on Bravo.