Artisans: A Sustainable Gallery

When Artisans gallery, a branch of Cedar City Artisans, opened last December local artists and artisans weren’t quite sure what to expect, but after several successful events and a lot of neighborhood support, it seems the fledgling gallery has found a format that may actually sustain itself in our small community.

"Escalante Storm" by J. Brad Holt (Photo courtesy of Artisans).

Opening the Gallery as a co-op was an almost ingenious idea that was conceived of first during a discussion between Melissa Sullivan and the then Mayor, Gerald R. Sherratt. “Mayor Sherratt wanted an art gallery in Cedar and he thought it should be a co-op,” Melissa said that later it was decided that the venture should be less of a city endeavor and more of a personal venture. “By then we had momentum, there were all these artists that were already involved and they wanted to still move forward anyway. The whole thing has really taken on a life of its own.”

Photo by Carin Miller

Melissa said, above all, from the very beginning, it was extremely important to hold the gallery to a separate standard from the typical format you would find at an artist co-op, where each artist has their own area or booth and you walk from one artist’s work to the next.

“Though it is a bit of a salon style it’s not a mish mash of stuff hanging floor to ceiling,” Melissa said. “There is integration and cohesiveness to the exhibit. The artwork flows and it is important that we display it in the most visually pleasing way possible.”

"A Boy and His Dog" by Karen Gale (photo courtesy of Artisans)

Karen Gale, member of Cedar City Artisans, has been involved since just before the gallery opened when Melissa asked members to step up and help out if they truly wanted to make this thing happen. She said she feels as though Melissa’s adamant position of professionalism has been paramount to the continued success of the co-op.

“Each room is designed very carefully and very purposefully. It feels like you really are in an art gallery and you can go in there just to appreciate art for art’s sake, as well as, having the opportunity to purchase it if you like it,” Karen shared. “The rooms were really very much color themed for the soup bowl fundraiser. We chose pieces that were designed to be bold and infuse a lot of color, and then rooms would be built around those themes.”

Karen said, as an artist who is ready to get her work out there, she is still new enough that she doesn’t have a huge following so this is a perfect arrangement for her. “I am an emerging artist so it’s not like I am in a place where I can get my stuff into bigger galleries. I think it’s (a co-op) a really good way to go.”

Melissa said they modeled the gallery in this way because it was more sustainable economically in a market like Cedar City where some have tried to open a traditional gallery in the past but they just couldn’t make it because there are not enough art sales year round in Cedar.

“It’s just a different structure,” Melissa said. “This is the only business model I could come up with that would even give a gallery a chance to make it in Cedar City.”

"Abstract 1" by Steve Yates, mixed media (Photo courtesy of Artisans)

Steve Yates has been involved in the movement from the very beginning along side of Melissa watching as she poured all of her time, love and energy into making this venture a success for those involved.

“I am constantly blown away at how much time and effort she puts into this I don’t think a lot of people really realize what’s involved,” Steve said. “I think a lot of people think it all just appears but they don’t see her sitting at her computer until 1 a.m. posting people’s art on the website so people can see it online to purchase.”

“She does the website pretty much herself,” he added.

Steve said he gets a real kick out of it when someone buys one of his pieces and that for him it is such a worthwhile payoff that it makes it easier to endure all of the time that he is paying dues but not selling work. “I think it’s the same for any artist when they realize that someone is willing to part with their own hard earned money and buy a piece of art that I made. It’s just a real charge.”

Melissa thinks there are some things that a community should just have and an art gallery is one of those. Though a couple of people have pulled their work out of the gallery because it wasn’t moving as fast as they had hoped it would the group has not been the slightest bit discouraged.

“I have one artist who is a member and he pays every month because he believes in the cause. He doesn’t even have any work in a gallery” she said. “We have gotten a substantial increase in traffic since Shakespeare started and I have noticed a huge difference in traffic and sales, huge.”

For more information about how to donate and support your local artists go to www.mycedarcity.org/artisans/index.php or call 586-4850.