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Behind the canvas: Plans underway for new art spaces
Check it out
What: Open Door Art Studios open house
Where: 231 G St. in downtown Davis
When: 5 to 8 p.m. Friday during the Second Friday ArtAbout
Imagine witnessing Monet paint his famous lily pads or Wayne Thiebaud put brush to canvas to create his well-known birthday cake series.
Soon, downtown Davis will have a place where visitors can watch budding artists working on their next masterpiece.
A group of artists have banded together to rent out a block of storefronts in the Court ‘N Cedar building at 231 G St. to transform them into “open door” work spaces and art studios where the public can come to watch the artists in action, view their finished (and unfinished) work and perhaps even buy a piece or two.
The provisional board, which created this project, has called it the Open Door Art Studios, and it is on schedule to open this summer.
“They’ve been meeting weekly and putting in tremendous hours weekly trying to get this thing off the ground,” said Michael Bisch, co-president of the Davis Downtown Business Association board. His company manages the property where the association plans to open the studios.
“Not only that, but they’ve been putting up money to make this happen,” Bisch added.
At a brown-bag lunch convened by the DDBA in January to discuss the possibility of an Arts and Entertainment District in Davis, several individuals mentioned that the city was in need of affordable studio and work space.
What sprang from that original idea was the Open Door Art Studios. Board members say it will not only match up artists with that space, but also give other artists and general members of the public the opportunity to come in and learn and be a part of the artistic process.
“I think this is super exciting,” said Brigitte Meyer, a local artist and a member of the provisional board who started planning the project in January. “As an artist, to watch people work, to have a studio where people can watch people work is outstanding, especially for this town.”
“That’s the point,” Gatewood said. “Having this bring people to their full potential. … This is going to be big for the downtown, this is going to make the downtown really cool.”
But beyond the uncertainty over how many artists will occupy the spaces, the question is who will get to use the space? That, the association has agreed, will be decided by a panel of three independent jurors selected by the board.
The association has put a call out to artistic mainstays in the area such as Natalie Nelson, director of the Pence Gallery, and Erie Vitiello, executive director of the Davis Art Center, to help review those artists who apply for the studio space.
The jury will judge each candidate based on an application and several examples of their work.
“We want to see what people bring in and go from there,” said Gatewood, who also will apply for space as a painter. “It’s pretty much about the work.”
“We are hoping for diversity,” added Bisch. “We don’t necessarily want a whole bunch of painters (for example), but it will all depend on who applies.”
Artists that are awarded the space will sign a one-year lease. The individual artist or artists sharing each space will pay the rent, which will range from about $218 for the smallest space to about $1,130 for the largest.
“But even if people can’t go in, with the big windows people can do window shopping,” Gatewood added.
Association members who don’t receive the work space still will have the opportunity to serve on the board or simply support the cause, which some say is incentive enough to support the program.
“Being part of the association does not actually translate to getting a studio,” said local photographer Ben Tuason, a member of the association board who plans on applying for a space. “It’s going to be difficult to accomplish, but whatever it is, I’m going to try to contribute and help in any way that I can.”
Thelma Weatherford, an oil and acrylic painter and member of the association board, says if she is granted space, it would greatly benefit her as an artist.
“It would do a lot for me personally,” said Weatherford, who now works on her art at home. “I like talking to other artists and having them available to speak with. It would be inspirational to have an association where people could come and see people creating art as well as artists being able to work together.
“The idea of creating that kind of energy here, where I can go look at my fellow artists and see what they’re doing, I think it’s about time Davis did something like that.”
Friday night, the association will host an open house during the Second Friday ArtAbout from 5 to 8 p.m. to demonstrate how the studios will look when they open in the summer.
The open house will feature artwork from several of the board members. Applications for studio space will be available and refreshments will be provided. May 18 is the deadline to turn in applications, along with a refundable $250 deposit. If an artist is accepted, that money will go toward their rent.
— Reach Tom Sakash at [email protected] or (530) 747-8057. Follow him on Twitter @TomSakash.
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