Collaborating to succeed

Linda Bohnsack once felt somewhat alone in the Cape Girardeau gallery business when she opened the Garden Gallery, at 833 Broadway, more than three years ago.

All that has changed, she said. Today, Bohnsack collaborates with eight other downtown galleries and the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri through the Around Town Group effort, which with the help of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, promotes the visual arts industry within the city.

It is one of the ways area galleries are collaborating to maintain success in the city.

The galleries, along with other downtown galleries, retailers, businesses and services, participate in the city's "First Friday" events to inform people about what downtown Cape Girardeau has to offer.

The galleries use the opportunity to promote local and emerging artists and educate the public about the value of art through workshops, demonstrations and exhibitions.

"Downtown activities are what all other towns are doing today. It makes them grow," Bohnsack said.

Bohnsack opened the gallery on the second floor of the building she owns, leasing the first floor to a retailer.

While starting the Garden Gallery was challenging at first, Bohnsack said, the business grew to the point she took the plunge to dedicate both floors of the building to the arts by moving the gallery to the first floor in July.

Increasing art awareness

The Garden Gallery offers a variety of art off Broadway in the historic part of town.

She keeps the second floor as an exhibition room that can be rented by artists for one-man or group shows or for other functions such as charitable fund-raising events.

She represents more than 100 artists in a gallery space of 4,500 square feet and owns two other gallery/studios, Jars of Clay Studio and Fusion Glassworks, both at 823 Broadway.

Her long-term goals are to work with other galleries to offer artist workshops, classes and demonstrations in a variety of media from local and visiting artists.

Those events will not only increase awareness about the arts but create a new client base for retail sales, she said.

Erin Koehler, gallery manager of Visual Arts Co-Op, at 32 N. Main St., said that without community support and involvement, galleries would struggle.

"It's very important to get the community involved," she said.

Fifty artists exhibit at the co-op, she said, and the Lorimer Gallery, which features local artists of the month, and the Gallery 100, with more out-of-town artists featured, are also in the building.

A big draw is that galleries in the Around Town Group focus on items that are created by the artists themselves, whether they be local artists or residing outside the state, she said.

"We have 100 percent handmade pieces here," she said. "Other crafters appreciate that imports and machine-made items aren't allowed and consumers expect to find handmade things here."

The Artist Studio, at 38A N. Main St., features the works of longtime visual artist Judy Barks-Westrich.

Westrich opened the gallery/studio in March 2005 to feature her many varieties of artwork and to offer adult workshops in various mediums.

During First Friday events, Westrich features the work of her workshop students and explains featured art in the gallery to visitors.

Both aspects are designed to educate visitors about the arts and most importantly to offer them the chance to learn a creative ability through one of her workshops.

Keeping local buyers

Westrich said she actively seeks adults who have not had experience with creating art because it is rewarding to see their pleasure when they learn about working with a particular medium.

"They are full of questions and full of doubts," she said. "I like to get them in a workshop situation to experiment and play with the media ... and create something they like and enjoy."

The experience adds to their awareness when they visit galleries. No longer is art a foreign and strange concept, it is one they can understand and appreciate.

"They might even understand the price of a work," she said.

Westrich said the biggest challenge galleries face is attracting and keeping Cape Girardeau buyers. For some reason, they choose to purchase art outside of the city, she said.

Around Town works to show Cape Girardeau buyers the quality and value of local artists, she said.

"I believe that no matter what a person's taste in art is, that there are artists in this area that will fulfill that," she said.

carel@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127