What began as a summer experiment to bring life to an empty downtown Smiths Falls storefront is sticking around.
The Big Art Gallery at the Falls opened July 1 at 25 Beckwith St. N. as part of the summer art walk, transforming a former tattoo studio into a gallery featuring paintings, photography, sculpture, woodwork and other creations from artists throughout the region.
Originally intended as a July and August pop-up, the gallery has now been extended through December following a strong response from artists and visitors.
Artist Nora Brown said the first two exhibitions each featured about 20 artists, with a new group of artists brought in for each show.
The next exhibition, An Autumn Art Affair, opens Sept. 9 and runs until the end of October. Another exhibition is planned for November and December.
Brown and fellow artist Chris Dickson have been heavily involved in organizing the exhibitions, including jurying submissions and hanging each show. Participating artists also volunteer a couple of days each month at the gallery, handling sales and talking with visitors about their own work and the work of other artists.
“It’s a lot of work to hang a show and get this new stuff in,” Brown said.
That workload is one reason the upcoming exhibitions will each run for two months rather than changing monthly.
Brown said the gallery has attracted artists largely from within about a 100-kilometre radius of Smiths Falls, including Ottawa, Kanata, Stittsville and the Rideau Lakes area.
Submissions are juried, generally by a panel of about five people. Brown said quality is the primary consideration, but organizers must also consider available space, the size and style of pieces and the mix of artistic mediums represented.
“We want professional artists,” she said, adding there is also room for emerging artists whose work is professionally presented.
Organizers are particularly interested in expanding the variety of work in the gallery. While paintings make up a significant portion of the exhibitions, the latest show includes woodturning and metal sculpture. Brown said they would also like to attract potters, glass artists and others working in different mediums.
The gallery has also become a place where visitors can occasionally see artists at work.
Artists have set up easels and painted on site, while one woodcarver spent a day working in the front window. Artists are encouraged to demonstrate their craft while volunteering, giving visitors an opportunity to see how some of the work is created.
“There’s definitely a need for this type of thing in this town,” Brown said.
The idea itself came together remarkably quickly.
Leslie Richardson of the Smiths Falls and District Chamber of Commerce said organizers were looking at ways to address vacant downtown storefronts as the July and August tourism season approached.
There were seven vacant spaces along the street, she said. An initial effort involved putting posters in the windows of one empty property, which drew a positive response.
Then Richardson happened to meet Dickson.
Dickson had created a painting of the Smiths Falls bridge and was interested in selling it.
“I said, ‘Well, absolutely, but I have a much better idea. Let’s make an art gallery,’” Richardson recalled.
Richardson was shown the vacant former tattoo studio that same day.
A week later, the beginnings of an art gallery were taking shape.
Students and volunteers came in with ladders, painted walls, repaired the floor and cleaned windows as the space was transformed.
“It was a total whirlwind,” Richardson said.
Within about two weeks, the gallery was ready.
Finding the artists, she said, turned out to be the easy part.
The response since then has encouraged organizers to keep going.
Richardson said nine paintings and six prints sold during July, with sales increasing in August. The gallery’s most recent vernissage drew a packed house and brisk sales, including several works sold during the event.
“People are travelling here,” Richardson said. “It’s been really well received.”
The Big Art Gallery at the Falls is currently a partnership involving the Town of Smiths Falls, the Smiths Falls and District Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Business Association, with participating artists volunteering their time.
The town has committed funding toward the project through December, provided matching sponsorships can be found. Richardson said rent is the primary expense, with only a relatively small amount needed for supplies because artists volunteer to operate the gallery and the artwork remains with the gallery until it sells.
The longer-term hope is that the artists will form their own organization, pursue grants and other funding and eventually take over operation of the gallery.
Jeff Murphy, the town’s tourism, arts and culture co-ordinator, said the municipality has provided financial assistance and support behind the scenes. He has also participated in the jury process and said the town could assist with identifying grant opportunities as organizers look at ways to continue the initiative.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Murphy said.
He described the gallery as a successful proof of concept for what can be done with an empty downtown storefront.
“We took what was an empty storefront, essentially, and with a bit of elbow grease and some effort, we turned it into this wonderful location,” Murphy said.
Ingrid Bron, the town’s manager of economic development and tourism, said the project also serves a broader economic-development purpose.
Part of the concept is to showcase the potential of vacant commercial space to prospective investors while also encouraging investment in Smiths Falls’ arts and culture sector.
Bron said the response to the gallery and other arts initiatives demonstrates the strength of the local arts and culture community and the importance of finding ways to support it.
For Brown and Dickson, that means continuing to fill the Beckwith Street gallery with new work, new artists and opportunities for visitors to see some of those artists creating their work.
For now, what was supposed to disappear at the end of August will remain open for at least another four months.
And if the artists can build an organization and find the funding to sustain it, the pop-up may have found some staying power after all.
Information about exhibitions, calls for artists and gallery events is available through the Big Art Gallery at the Falls Facebook page.
The current exhibition continues until Sept. 6 and features work by Sarah Moffat, Mary Loos, Jane Languedoc, Heny Shah, Jim Fisher, Bonnie McLean, Donna Black, Rosalyn Insley, Susan Walters, Gordon Coulthart, Elaf Selim, Pamela Sttewart, Cathy Rivoire, Barbara Chappelle, Louise Sauve, Darryl Kicul, Chris Cummings, Len Modderman, Leah Hicks, Nora Brown, Chris Dickson and Ralph Baitley.
Artists selected for An Autumn Art Affair, running Sept. 9 through the end of October, will be announced following notification of the participating artists.
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