By Ron Evans
Galleries are a tricky business in the best of times. There’s so much that goes into booking exhibits and getting people to even show up, let alone spend their dollars on some fine art and support the system of creativity in their community. In the time of a pandemic… it goes without saying that those previous challenges have now become monsters to take on. In times like these we learn what people consider to be most important in their lives and thankfully, people do seem to still need (maybe more than ever?) art and a community where they can stay connected -and sane- through creativity. We talked with Gallery One Executive Director Monica Miller about how they’ve been proactive in keeping the flames of creativity burning all while dealing with the ongoing everyday business of the gallery itself.
First, tell us how things are going for the gallery in the time of ‘all things unsettled?’
I don’t even know how to answer that. You know how when people nowadays ask how you are? To say ‘great’ is a lie, to say ‘sucky’ is to not acknowledge those that are truly suffering. My heart hurts for our community of color suffering racial injustices, for those not being given a fair working environment, for those on the frontline of COVID-19, and for those whose infrastructure is tenuous at best. By comparison, we are fine. In my signature line on my email I sign off with “With C.A.R.E. (creativity, adaptability, resilience, and empathy)” which is a phrase I came up with before the CARES package by the way. But I really do lean on it everyday. I can’t erase it because I still need all of those things in abundance and I think the arts can provide us these four tools to survive this $#%.
What kinds of things have you done to keep the gallery in the public eye while folks have had to stay away?
It feels like we have tried almost everything under the sun. We’re Zooming art classes, we’re YouTubing events such as the PechaKucha talks, we’re interviewing artists on Facebook, we delivered 500 art supply kits to schools before they closed, and we put all the exhibition art and our gift shop online. But not everything is online. Another thing we’ve done is activate our secret weapon, Clay. On a normal day, Clay is our “Visitor Services Assistant”. She is really the charms and manners of the gallery so when we had to close our doors, I figured we may as well bring her hospitality to our members to keep those who might not be so present online, connected with what we are doing. She’s called about 600 people in the last four months and they LOVE it. I get emails thanking me for the phone call!
Where does a gallery fit into Washington’s Phases as far as being allowed to let people back in for gatherings?
We opened back up with limited hours in phase 2 since we are not a “museum” after submitting our plan to the Kittitas County Health Officer for approval. The modified phase 3 that only allows gatherings of up to 10 is not really affecting us because we’re just not ready to host in-person classes or large events yet anyway. But we love having people come into the space. It’s a perfect place to social distance and connect with creativity. People can currently come in and see the Kittitas County exhibit which features 89 artists. We also have these Art2GO kits (GO stands for Gallery One, get it?) with materials and instructions for all ages so people can keep creating!
Obviously many events have been cancelled. Have you had to postpone/cancel artists showing in the gallery as well? In other words has this completely messed up your year’s exhibit schedule or are you sticking to it no matter what?
Most definitely but we are rolling with it. Pretty early on, we decided to reschedule the exhibits with artists that would have to come from out of town for 2021 and really focus on our local community for the rest of this year. We want to develop a sense of pride in our community but also keep everyone safe. We did have to cancel one local exhibit so that we could hold our big fundraiser, Paint Ellensburg, in the gallery space in September.
Any advice for artists looking for representation at this time? Is there hope?
I hope so! Economically while the future is uncertain, retail sales across the country are up because people are spending so much time shopping online. While our online sales are not anything on the scale of *ahem* other online retailers, we see this as an opportunity to expand our market and hope other artists will too, either as individual marketplaces or with galleries like ours. We’re doing everything we can to promote our local artists through our online registry, 360 studio tours, interviews, and our new online gift shop.
Tell us about your upcoming virtual events.
In addition to our ongoing virtual classes that anyone can take, we are focusing now on three major efforts. The next one is this coming Saturday, July 25 for our Virtual Studio Tours where we basically take over the internet. We will have artist demos on our YouTube Channel, interview artists Live on Facebook, and host a Zoom Droodle (Drink and Doodle) via YouTube. The hottest thing we have on Instagram right now is the marmot we found in our courtyard. Check him out.
Next we’ll host another PechaKucha *a themed live talk paired with a timed slide presentation* via YouTube with the theme “World Wide Web”. We’re inviting community members to talk about different aspects of the internet including social justice, education, and online dating. We actually haven’t found anyone willing to admit they met online yet but we’re working on it. That’s in August.
Finally, we’re attempting like the rest of the nonprofit world to put our super-duper-important-critical-to-delivering-our-programs-and-just-surviving-fundraiser online. Paint Ellensburg will be an art auction available to view in person but participate in online. I am hopeful that our community will show up for us for this. We open the exhibit on Sept 4 and close with a virtual Zoom auction on September 19. We’re going to try to bring the fun to it, or at least have fun trying.
Have you had a good response to your online presentations?
Mostly yes but it’s hit and miss. The last PechaKucha event we did on YouTube has over 3,000 views. The wine tasting interviews we did - have about 12 views. Needless to say we won’t be doing any more wine tastings. The challenge is in the monetization of the events. Normally at in-real-life gatherings we can offset expenses with bar sales. People haven’t been motivated to text to give when I ask them to via a screen. Go figure. By the way you can Text: Gallery To: 44-321.
What’s the thing you look forward to the most about post-COVID life at the gallery?
Classes for kids such as our cancelled summer camps. That is the biggest loss, the inability to support arts education and create meaningful connections with families and youth. As a “third space” we love having kids here after school, for field trips, and family classes. It’s heartbreaking to feel that our hands are tied right now. Besides, I have a ten year old and I just want to be able to drop him off somewhere!
Final thoughts on the arts during this wacky time?
How much space do I get for this? All the articles have already been written. My focus has been on trying to use the arts and our role in the community to continue to build relationships by focusing on the individual artists and the people in our community who can use the arts to heal and just deal with what’s happening.
How can people help support Gallery One?
Text: Gallery To:44-321 Ha ha, no really.
Thank you for asking. While we are known belovedly as “the gallery”, we are a nonprofit arts organization serving the community and artists from around Washington State for more than 50 years. We offer access to the arts regardless of income or ability to all ages. We are not just a white box with cool art (we have that too) and the support we receive are notes of CARE from those who believe our future is important.
So, spend five minutes on our website and find a way to engage and pick something. Between the studio tours coming up, the online gift shop, and our classes, anyone can participate. The number one place to start is to join as a member. Members get benefits for all the things and also you might get a call from Clay! It’s a win-win.
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