Galleries: A waste of space?

Are galleries in Ashland a waste of valuable space that could be used by other businesses to create more jobs?

When you walk into a gallery, there's usually only one person working there, and it's often the owner.

When news broke that two galleries in the Historic Railroad District were closing in the span of two months, one anonymous person posted a comment on the Tidings Web site that said more galleries should close so that "we can produce businesses with jobs."

Another stated, "I just want to live in a place that has jobs, man. I don't think that this so-called 'art' has any business in Ashland."

But what's really going on behind the scenes in Ashland's galleries?

Each gallery represents about two dozen artists. It's true that few artists can make a living full-time off their art, so they usually hold down a regular job and work on their art during evenings and weekends. Making art amounts to virtually a second part-time job that is an added source of income to the artists. Some of Ashland's most talented artists contribute to the economy and society in diverse ways, working at Ashland Lumber, Bloomsbury Books, Ashland High School and Southern Oregon University.

An artist works all year to create a body of work to show when his or her turn rolls around to have that month's exhibit at a gallery.

For the one person a visitor sees working at a gallery, two dozen people are working unseen in their home studios.

Many art buyers are from out of town and pump money into Ashland's economy when they make a purchase. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is the big draw, but it's the entire experience of galleries, restaurants, parks and historic buildings that keeps people coming back.

Many artists in Ashland's galleries are local. Buying art keeps money circulating here in the economy. Even if the artist isn't local, the gallery owner is.

As galleries fall by the wayside, there are fewer venues to host the annual "A Taste of Ashland" art, food and wine tour. The event brings visitors from across the Rogue Valley and region to town in the spring, a time when many businesses are still in the off-season slump.

Meanwhile, companies that have great opportunities for job growth, like Brammo Motorsports and software-maker Plexis Healthcare Systems, don't want the small and medium-sized retail spaces that abound in Ashland. They want space, and lots of it.

Gallery DeForest, which will close after its current exhibit ends on Oct. 25, occupies a space the size of a typical bedroom, bathroom and closet. It will be interesting to see what other business will make a go of it wedged into that tiny area.

The Nuwandart Gallery's space on Fourth Street wasn't much bigger, and it certainly wouldn't work for the light manufacturing of electric motorcycles envisioned by Brammo Motorsports.

Of course, many residents appreciate the boost galleries give to our quality of life, the economy and artists.

As one person commenting on the Tidings Web site wrote, "Gallery DeForest has made available artwork that might not have been seen and has presented work with attention to detail and quality and technique. Thank you Cathy DeForest."

So yes, thank you to Cathy DeForest and also Johan Ziems and Rob Pendell, who closed their Nuwandart gallery in September. They supported the local economy, and the encouragement they gave to student artists — details of which would take up a whole other column — was invaluable, not something that can be captured in dollars and cents on a spreadsheet.

I miss Nuwandart already, and I know I'll miss Gallery DeForest. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the remaining galleries in Ashland.

Vickie Aldous is an Ashland Daily Tidings staff writer. Reach her at 479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com.