MEET YOUR MERCHANTS
NAME: Hillsborough Gallery of Arts
ADDRESS: 121 N. Churton St., Suite D, Hillsborough
PRODUCT: Fine art, fine crafts
ESTABLISHED: 2006
CONTACT: (919) 732-5001
WEB SITE: http://hillsboroughgallery.com
By Jonathan Tuttle
chh@heraldsun.com; 918-1035
HILLSBOROUGH -- The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts may be the best functioning democracy in the Triangle. Run by 18 artists, the painters, sculptors and jewelers pay the rent, devise the marketing and design the space, all in return for the opportunity to display their own work.
It is the only cooperatively run organization among all the Churton Street galleries that open their doors on the last Friday of the month.
"When we disagree, we disagree respectfully," said Chris Graebner, a painter of botanical landscapes and a founding member of the gallery.
"Our success," added sculptor Renee Leverty Oliverio, "comes from our respecting each other not just as co-workers but as artists."
"We're great docents for each other's work," said Lynn Wartski, who shapes three-dimensional figures of copper and glass.
The balance of voices inside the gallery has led to three years of gradually increasing sales since Pat Merriman thought up the idea for the gallery while on a walk downtown with her dog.
Previously a spa (there are still tiles and drains on the gallery floor), the space was empty when Merriman, retired and an aspiring artist, moved to Hillsborough with her husband in 2004.
Already a member of a group of watercolor artists, the empty storefront inspired her to start a group of a different kind, where all the artists were owners.
"I'm in my 70s," said Merriman, "I couldn't run a gallery by myself. And with a co-op, we could make the rent each month."
Two weeks later the Hillsborough Gallery of Art had a credit card machine and a set of bylaws. The original group of three artists quickly grew to 15, where the number was capped until new space could be added to the gallery, after which three new members were added.
"We try to honor the space," said Oliverio. "We make sure that each member can have enough wall space to show their work."
"People love all the little nooks in here," said Jude Lobe, who recently has been working with enamel on copper. "It's an inviting space."
The artists set the prices for their own pieces, usually in the range of $200. Graebner believes that given the quality of the work -- and compared to galleries in Raleigh -- the prices are "very reasonable."
A waiting list of artists is lined up behind the current 18. A rigorous jury process allows for the addition of new artists who can commit themselves to at least one year, attend meetings, sit on committees and greet customers.
After the jury process, the artists are free to show anything they create. New work from two to three of the artists is brought in and featured for the Last Friday art walk each month, while the other rooms contain works from all the members, tweaked and rearranged by an Aesthetics Committee over a period of three months.
"Our regulars are always walking into a new gallery," said Oliverio.
The recurring deadline every three months also has the benefit of providing the inspiration, or the "perspiration" as painter Ellie Reinhold calls it, to be constantly creating new work.
After that, working well with differing opinions is the easy part.
