Appointments

As the ‘due date’- Grand Opening Reception, Feb. 5, 2011- gets closer, we’re having more and more appointments - with the lawyer, the accountant, the architect, the business coach.  Each of these professionals is examining us, pointing out our strengths, filling in the gaps in our knowledge so that our gallery can run smoothly from day one. We feel a tremendous responsibility to those artists who trust us to show and promote their work, and to the collectors and art lovers who will enjoy and appreciate it.

There are some excellent resources out there for artists and small businesses. The Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts, a program of the Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston, exists to meet the legal needs of the state's artistic community. The Center for Women & Enterprise provides expertise and advice for startup businesses. The Massachusetts Cultural Council is a resource for information as well as funding. These groups, and many other organizations and individuals, have been particularly helpful as we prepare to open.

It’s impossible to be completely prepared for the adventure of the new arrival that will be Fountain Street Fine Art. But by learning everything we can about the business aspects of operating a gallery from professionals who are experts in their fields, we expect to avoid common pitfalls, and keep the focus where it belongs- on the ART.

Please consider submitting work to our first group show, Unscripted, juried by Katherine French, director of The Danforth Museum

Dropoff dates are 1/14-1/15/11

Email us at fountainstfineart@gmail.com for full information and an application.

A Call for Art for our first Juried Group Show!

We've just announced.... 

Fountain Street Fine Art's first Call for Art!  Katherine French, Director at the Danforth Museum will jury our inaugural group show.

The theme for the show is “Unscripted” ( like opening this gallery has been!) 

We're seeking professional and inspiring visual works of all kinds. Artists may submit up to five works  (2 and 3D, any media) created within the past two years. Jurying will be done from original work on site; dropoff dates are Friday Jan. 14th, and Saturday Jan. 15th. the show will run from Jan. 27th through Feb. 27th; Our Grand Opening and Reception will be held Saturday, February 5th.

Please consider submitting your work & forward the blog to anyone you think may be interested.

For complete information and an application, please email us at fountainstfineart@gmail.com

A first look

Friday night, we invited the artists in the building who were open during Fountain Street Studios December Stroll to leave a piece with us for the evening, so that we could open our doors for a preview of the new gallery space, and give visitors a snapshot of what they would see throughout the building. As you can see from the photos below, the place is looking more and more like a gallery. 

Thanks to all the artists who brought work into the gallery, and to everyone who stopped by on Friday night and gave us such positive feedback and encouragement. Also thank you to Five Bites Cupcakes http://www.5bitescupcakes.com/index.html, for the special treat!

(for those of you who haven't been following the blog, check our earlier posts for photos of what the space used to look like, and see how far we've come. And stay tuned, because we're not finished yet...)

Starting to show...

The gallery will be open for a sneak peek during Fountain Street Studios' Friday Stroll this Friday, Dec. 10th, from 5:30-9 PM.. Fountain Street Studios is located at 59 Fountain Street, Framingham MA.The gallery is on the ground floor, right by the main entrance. We're not officially open yet, but here's your chance to see how things are shaping up, and hear about plans for our grand opening juried group show early next year! 

We'll have a sampler of work from artists throughout the building on display. Many artists will have their studios open, so you can stop by and talk with them during the evening as well.

Many hands....

Just a quick thanks to everyone who stopped by today to peek, chat, and to help us paint. It was a fun and incredibly successful day!

And if you wanted to stop by but couldn't, we're not finished yet! 

Fixing up the "baby's" room

This week we’re focusing our energies on preparing the physical space of the gallery. It’s amazing, the transformative power of paint (and industrial strength cleaner and hard work!) We started with  the Members’ Gallery, a smaller, more manageable task, and now we’ve got a finished room to work from while we tackle prepping and painting the rest of the gallery.

We’ll be in the gallery on Wednesday, Dec. 1st and Friday, Dec. 3rd, from 9am-12:30pm, and 9AM-4PM on Saturday, Dec.4th, painting the ceiling and walls. (59 Fountain Street, Framingham, MA, 1st floor.)

Stop by, take a look around, and grab a brush if you’ve got a little time to spare. We can use all the help we can get!

The main gallery waits for paint.

The members gallery- now....

....and before.

Thanksgiving

This week it seems appropriate to look back at how far we’ve come before looking at how much there is still to accomplish before our grand opening on February 4, 2011 (our shared birthday). 

Three months ago all we had was an idea; now we’ve got a space, a name, and we’re working on a membership structure, a programming calendar, and an exhibition schedule (details to come!!!)

While sitting here in our gallery-to-be, we can’t help but think of all the people who have been instrumental in bringing  Fountain Street Fine Art into the world.

We’d like to say a profound 'THANK YOU' to each one of you- our generous landlord and his staff, our fellow artists at Fountain Street Studios, our mentors, friends, families, and even complete strangers who have supported us and given their time and talents to help make this project happen.

...and thank you for reading this blog- please share it with friends!

What's in a name?

Naming our ‘baby’ has proved to be quite a dilemma!

We’ve been following various theads, and pretty much sleeping with the Thesaurus, hoping something brilliant- catchy but not frivolous, resonant but not pretentious, comes to us in a dream or something- So far, no luck.

First, the historical thread- Bancroft Gallery, maybe, after our Building? But who, but the residents and a few history buffs, know that’s what it’s called? How about Goldman Gallery, after our illustrious landlord?

Or the arty-cute thread- Zest, Zed, Zen, Pop, Buzz, Sphere? The good ones are taken, the others are lame…..

Or the gritty industrial thread- Boiler Room? ( sounds like a bar) Power Plant? (nah)

Smokestack ?

And on and on and on….

How about Junior?

In a sense, our gallery is a child of Fountain Street Studios- a natural outgrowth of the dynamic artist community that it has become over the years. The gallery is not exclusive to Fountain Street artists, yet it wouldn’t exist without the creative energy present here. Fountain Street Studios has name recognition and a fine reputation. People know who we are, and equally importantly, where we are. This gives us a head start in establishing ourselves as the place to see new work from emerging local artists.

So ‘Fountain Street Fine Art’ (aka ‘Junior’) it is!

More Progress Photos....

Like any proud parents, we're always ready to pull out the 'baby' pictures. As you can see, things are starting to happen! 

Curious? Want to see for yourself? 

The doors will be open during Fountain Street Studios' Holiday Stroll this weekend- 

Friday November 12 from 5:30-9PM, and Saturday November 13 from 11-5. 

Come on in, we'll be thrilled to show you around!

the Members Room

Wallboard is up and prepped for painting.

The hallway area can serve as coatroom, admin area. Restroom on right.

This gives you some idea of how spacious the gallery is.

Ready for paint, then lights, then ART!

What to Expect....

This idea to open a gallery is clearly not a new phenomenon.  Others exist in various forms.  Thanks to the www we were able to do research near and far on other crazy (I mean like-minded) folks who blazed the trail ahead of us. In searching for successful models, we found a wealth of information and generous souls who were happy to share some pearls of wisdom and warning with us. Here are just a few of the valuable resources we’ve come across.

Close to home The Boston Sculptors Gallery (www.bostonsculptors.com) sets the bar high and proves it is possible for a group of artists to work together successfully and profitably. Both Bromfield (www.bromfieldgallery.com)and Kingston Galleries (www.kingstongallery.com) also provide us with examples of long term coop success stories.  A neighbor to the west, North Adams Artists’Co-Op Gallery (www.naacogallery.org) is a relative newcomer, formed in 2008 as a seasonal destination, already grown to a year round venue.

Farther west still Spark Gallery (http://www.sparkgallery.com), in Denver CO, opened in 1978.  Their members have been very helpful to us via email. Of course no gallery research would be complete without information from NYC.  Got some great insights from the artist member point of view from a former member of the Bowery Gallery (http://www.bowerygallery.org/).

Jonanne Mattera offers a great article on the pros and cons of Artist Coop galleries- Well worth a read…http://joannemattera.blogspot.com/2010/07/marketing-mondays-co-op-galleries-yes.html

We’ve done our homework- We’ve read everything we can on the subject, and talked with numerous experts near to home and all over the country. If you know of any Coop Galleries we should talk with, or have your own gallery experiences to share, (positive or negative) we’d love to hear about it!

A very rough sketch of our new space. We'll need it to configure the lighting.

We’re having a gallery!

Cheryl and I were clear on the fact that there was a real need for an ongoing presence for artists in the Bancroft Building. We’d talked with the building owner, and looked at spaces within the building as they became available. The artistic energy’s in the Bancroft Building- the gallery has to be here. But the building is cavernous, and access is critical.

We got a phone call as soon as the space on the first floor became available; a 2200 sq. ft. space located right by the main entrance.  The large central area is spacious; large windows allow for natural light.  Movable wall panels can be built to allow the space to be configured in various ways. A smaller adjacent room can also be used as exhibit space. The space is equipped with a restroom, and has easy access to the loading dock, which will allow access for large 2D work as well as sculpture and installations.   The space has a maximum capacity of 300 people, making it a great alternative place to host small business functions, workshops and lectures.

And we need to decide- NOW.

Is anyone ever prepared for the excitement and responsibility that comes with the realization that she is expecting? We felt that although we’d analyzed the possibilities and researched the logistics, we were taking a huge leap into the unknown. But we were equally sure that this is the place; the time is right, and we’re ready. 

Conception

 Truthfully, we’ve wanted this ‘baby’ for a long time. Cheryl was one of the first artists to rent space in the Bancroft Building, in December of 1996. In fact, she’s one of the artists who coined the name ‘Fountain Street Studios’. Over the years, the number or artists and the reputation of Fountain Street Studios has grown. The community of artists is diverse in media and career development.  Many of the artists with studios in the Bancroft are well-established professionals making their living solely from sales of their work; others are just starting out and / or developing their artistic vision.

Marie is current coordinator of its annual Open Studio Weekend, when most of the over seventy Fountain Street artists open their studios to the public.The Studios are also open for a Holiday Studio Stroll and for occasional Friday night “Studio Strolls” throughout the year.  The fall event and the Studio Strolls evolved in response to many Open Studio visitors repeated asking “When can we come back? Are you open all the time?” With a Gallery at Fountain Street Studios, we can answer YES!

We see the gallery as a natural progression in the growth of the creative community begun by Cheryl’s move into the Bancroft Building almost fifteen years ago. We share the vision; we’ve found a partnership that works.

(that, the blessing of our respective husbands and families, and a little cash, are all we need now. Oh yeah, and space)