About a year ago, Rapid Growth devoted an editorial to the challenges of one gallery's decision as to whether or not they could stay in the building they had inhabited for years as the property changed owners. (They didn’t.)
It would go on to provide much insight for those of us in the arts, but it would not be the only downtown space to experience a bit of an upheaval to their business model.
This is not just a Grand Rapids issue. Artists will often be the first booted from an area once property values reach a certain level. See New York's SoHo-to-Chelsea migration for how it worked for a while, then look at Detroit's Ponyride's deliberate model for how it should be.
When Open Concept Gallery (OCG) lost their space, it appeared they would become just another causality. But the one thing I know about the arts is that for those who practice them, change is a constant.
Last summer, OCG retreated to a Heritage Hill dining room table to strategize. They even invited me to a few of these planning sessions, where I observed first-hand how these curators would retool their model.
Focusing on education, the gallery began to host a series of arts-focused lecture events at the University Club, also inviting artists to display their work. This resulted in the direct placement of these exciting works from contemporary artists near the roaming eyes of the city's wealthiest art buyers. If OCG would not have a space to call home, they would go to their clients.
For the return of their annual SMart Multimedia Festival, the curators deliberately pared down this typically expansive show.
"We are presenting three artists who are young, but becoming very established in the art world," says OCG curator Katie Moore. "SMart provides them an established platform in our community to showcase their very interesting insights into how they view contemporary society."
Mark Ther is a video artist from the Czech Republic known for his images with little to no dialogue. And in keeping with what is hot in the art world, Ther lets his vivid imagery, informed by his queer background, create a strong narrative that juxtaposes beautiful scenes against unexpected moments of darkness. His work grabbles with a narrative that can be applied to almost every group that has been discriminated against by society, and even observes those who feel they have to hide the traditions of their cultures in order to be accepted.
Naroa Lizar was born in 1984 in Spain. She has a BA in Photography from the Creative Arts University in the U.K. and is about to earn her MFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY with a Fulbright Scholarship. Late one night as I was writing, I stumbled on Lizar’s page filled with DIY Banksy stencils and promptly wrote her to inquire about one. I would quickly learn they are not for sale, but that these pieces reflects the artist's premise about the commercialization of art.
Trapped by her spell, we began a humorous dialogue around the conceptual work, which she has been showing in exhibitions like the History of DIY Art in Madrid (2011), the First Ural Biennale of Contemporary Art in Russia (2010), and recently, Occupy Wall Street at the Chelsea Gallery, Guided By Invoices (2012).
The third guest artist is Lisa van Noorden from the Netherlands. OCG will be exhibiting her multimedia piece, Volte. Volte is an interactive kaleidoscopic art installation that renders an abstract video-animation where nobody and nothing is recognizable in a realm of constant detachment from reality. This piece is said to posses the power to recreate beauty out of the ordinary or grotesque.
For those wishing to explore these works more in depth, the curators from OCG will be hosting a talk at 6:30 p.m., prior to the opening reception at 7:30 p.m.
Admission: Free
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