Visual Arts Cooperative marks first anniversary

A year after its inception, the Visual Arts Cooperative has nearly 30 people on its waiting list, all of them hoping to join the 45 community professional and amateur artists who are already part of the cooperative that offers them a place to exhibit and sell their work.

"I've just got on after a year of waiting," said professional artist Barbi Myres, one of the artists who will be exhibiting artwork at the first-anniversary exhibit of the Visual Arts Cooperative that opens tonight with a reception at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri galleries.

All of the cooperative's artists have one of their works on display each month in one of the Arts Council's galleries, but for the anniversary show each artist will be displaying three pieces of work in all three galleries.

There are also some pieces on display at the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

"I'm very pleased with what I see happening," said co-op founder Jean Chapman. "As we take people off the waiting list to become members, we get more and more people on the list."

The cooperative was created a year ago to help the arts council pay the rent on its new, larger facilities and to give artists a venue to sell their work. According to Chapman, it has succeeded past its rather mundane beginnings.

"It's a win-win-win situation," he said. "The public wins because they get to see new art, the artists win because they have a place to display fine art and the council wins because they have a third of their rent paid. I think that's why it's been so successful, because everybody wins."

In addition, Chapman said the cooperative has given area artists the chance to show their artwork on a continuous basis in Cape Girardeau, something that did not exist before. It has also exposed a lot of local artists to the public and to each other.

Chapman said he was blown away by the number of artists in the area and the variety of work they produce. He said the cooperative has members from Perryville, Jackson, Charleston, Millersville and Sikeston.

Myres, an artist from Sikeston, paints floral works in oils, sometimes using only a palette knife to apply the paint.

Even though she recently joined the cooperative, Myres said she went to all the monthly receptions while she was still on the waiting list. Now she gets the chance to have her own artwork up at tonight's reception and the possibility of selling some of it. "When you sell your paintings it encourages you to go on," she said.

Artist Megan Thrower produces mixed media work that combines words and images to create an idea or theme. "I love languages and symbolism," she said. "I'll have an idea and I look for connections. I have something I want to say in my mind, but I hope that it's ambiguous enough for people to get their own ideas."

Thrower received a bachelor's of fine arts degree from Southeast Missouri State University, but had no idea the Cape Girardeau area had so many artists.

In addition to displaying one of their pieces every month, several cooperative members also have a mini-show in a rotating basis in the buildings' front windows.

Craig Thomas, a freelance artists whose work mainly consists of murals, is one of the members on display this month.

"The cooperative makes me produce work for myself instead of other people," he said.

Thomas was also in charge of deciding where the anniversary show artwork would go, which he said was difficult.

"Bringing all the pieces together, you're always going to have an eclectic mix, hanging is always going to be a challenge."

Now there will be even more pieces to bring together, as the cooperative recently decided to allow 45 members and one scholarship member.

The diversity of the work and the number of members, Thomas said, also means the shows are very exciting and full of energy.

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182