Culture
New Artists Invigorate Nelsonville Gallery
By: Bryan Gibson
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It turns out that reports of Majestic Galleries’ demise were greatly exaggerated.
The public is invited to attend a show titled “The Majestic Lives,” highlighting the work of new gallery members from Athens, Hocking and neighboring counties. A wide variety of pieces will be on display, including relief prints, paintings and photographs.
Last November, the artist cooperative, located on Nelsonville’s Public Square, looked as if it might close its doors. Now thanks to new membership, it has a new lease on life.
“Majestic lost some key members over the winter, and indeed we were in danger of closing,” said Jim Shirey, photographer and co-director (with Kathy Guest) of Majestic Galleries.
“But we pushed for new membership and got lucky,” he said. “Some very talented and energetic people came in with ideas to expand our membership, make sales, and build partnerships with other arts organizations.”
One of the selling points in recruiting new artists was the quality and size of the gallery space, which was formerly a movie theater (also called The Majestic).
“We can host up to four shows at once and can accommodate large installations,” said Shirey. “Our membership terms are flexible, and we emphasize to members that the space is theirs to go wherever their imagination leads them.”
Shirey says the main challenge in the coming years is getting the word out about shows and making the work visible in the community.
“People in Athens, for example, are generally not aware that such varied and high quality artwork is locally available at such reasonable cost,” he said. “Plus, visitors to our galleries on Final Fridays can talk to the artists themselves. They can find out what motivates us to create art and what individual pieces mean to us.”
“The Majestic Lives” will run through Feb. 19. For more information, visit www.majesticgalleries.com.