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.