May 18, 2004 - -10:00 a.m.
The meeting was held at The United Methodist Church of Las Animas and
Paintings were
exchanged before the meeting got under way. (See picture below)
Then the meeting got underway when members of the Eads Art Guild began by
discussing how they got started and
eventually got their Art gallery going. They said that they began with just a
small group of interested artists who began meeting to paint together once a
week. Then they organized an “Art in the park” event and were well
received by the community. They incorporated with a name and a logo and
applied for a Council of Arts matching grant for $500.00. They matched the
grant money and rented a building. To raise money to match funds for the
grant, they had bake sales, garage sales and silent auctions, and a chili
supper.
Their hours are Wed.-Sat. from 10am to 5pm. Normally, only members are allowed
to exhibit. Members meet once a month to discuss business. They meet once a
week to paint together and one evening a week to just to get together. They
have an annual Christmas show where they allow crafts to be displayed without
membership. All sales are charged a 30% commission, which wasf recently raised
from 20% to meet expenses. They have theme shows several times a year.
It’s difficult for them to schedule volunteers on Thursday. They have a
brochure. The town came together recently to help them keep the building open
because they discovered that it was important to the community. They will now
pay $300.00 a month for the next 7 years.
The Springfield Art Guild is a co-op gallery that charges $35 for the
membership of displaying artists. They have been open for one year. They have
need of gallery volunteers. They are open Mon. - Sat. from 12PM-4PM. They
have a website and a brochure in progress. They mentioned that although would
like to sell something everyday, the community seems that they're treated
like a museum - people come in and look around but not many actually buy.
The group discussed having several "art markets" throughout the
summer. The first will be in Eads at their annual Art in the Park on the Kiowa
County Courthouse Lawn on Saturday, July 3rd, 2004. Where artists get together
to paint, etc. and show their work. Set-up is at 9AM. There will be some
tables available and trees for shade. The day will end at 4PM.
The next "art market" under consideration is during the Crowley
County Days in Ordway, July 25 - Aug 1, then during the Bent County Fair, July
31-Aug. 7, 2004. Then the Sand & Sage Fair & Rodeo in Lamar, Aug. 7 - 15 and
the Arkansas Valley Fair in Rocky Ford, August 15-17 and the Early Settlers'
Days in La Junta, September 11-12 and finally the Fall Equinox Festival in
September in Springfield. The group will share the cost of booth space if
necessary. They would also like to look into having an exhibit at Bent's Old
Fort.
The group also discussed having an all high school show that would be like an
open house after school so that parents could see the local talent and start
supporting the local artist community.
The regional tourism group has discussed developing brochures by topic to
promote tourism in the region. The regional art guild would be very interested
in developing a regional art gallery brochure.
At the next meeting the group will discuss organizing a marketing and pricing
workshop for local artists. The next meeting will be held at the Artists of the
Plains Art Gallery in Eads at 10AM on Tuesday, August 17, 2004.
