Gallery Route One Puts Programming Online
When the Shelter-in-Place order hit, Gallery Route One was preparing its annual Members' Exhibition for an opening on March 27th, and GRO's Artists in the Schools (AIS) program had just initiated a connection with Tomales Elementary School, meeting with the kids only once before the schools were suddenly closed.
What's a nonprofit, community-based art gallery to do? Art exhibitions, receptions, workshops and talks, performances and fundraisers all involve bringing people together to share the art experience collectively. In response to the limitations we all face today, Gallery Route One is finding ways to bring its programs to the internet.
The Members' Exhibition is now available to view on the gallery website, where you can see artwork, and photos of each artist, along with a few words about their process. Visit Spring 2020 to see the exhibition, and "Meet the Artists." Anyone interested in buying an artwork can do so through the gallery's new online store, and visitors will find a selection of items from the GRO gift shop there as well. The shop is still a work in progress with new artworks and items being posted daily!
As the artists for the 2020 Box Show get to work, the gallery will be excited to post online the box art that is in progress. Although the date for the annual Box Show is yet to be determined, plain wooden boxes will be distributed to participating artists as per usual so that artists can be working on them while sheltering in place.
GROis eager to reach out to kids as well as their families during this unprecedented time. To keep the connection going with kids participating in GRO's AIS program, program director Joe Fox is quickly learning how to videotape his art lessons for posting on AIS' YouTube channel. On the gallery's website a new series, Art Projects at Home, has been launched with postings of creative projects using simple materials usually found around the house. Gallery artists and board members alike will be cooking up an innovative series of new projects in the coming weeks. Visit Art Projects at Home on Gallery Route One's homepage: www.galleryrouteone.org/
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