Downtown Gallery Hosting Community and Professional Shows to Provide Needed Outlet for Artists, Community

Downtown Gallery Hosts Community and Professional Shows to Provide Needed Outlet for Artists, Community

by David Dinsmore

It started with a space.

Artist LeAnne Henry

Wright moved to a new gallery at 14B West Main St. in Shawnee in January. One morning not long after that, she was drinking coffee at home and looking at the pieces she has from other professional artists in this area, and it struck her that she needed to use her new gallery to demonstrate the level of talent living in and around the community.

“It’s insane that all these artists live in Shawnee,” Wright said. “Their work is represented all across the country in galleries and museums.”

As she began contacting the four artists – Corey Fuller, Paula Jones, Julie Marks Blackstone, and Lucas Simmons – Wright began envisioning a big event at the gallery that not only showcased the talent of her colleagues but also celebrated the community they call home.

Professional artists Paula Jones, LeAnne Henry

Wright, Julie Marks Blackstone, Lucas Simmons and Corey Fuller will each feature works as part of a show titled “Sustenance,” a recognition of local talent that has caught attention from art lovers across the country and an acknowledgement of the need for art even in the toughest of times.

ABOVE: “I Miss Your Face” show submissions

RIGHT: An invitation to the Shawnee community to contribute to an open art show called “I Miss Your Face” centered on the last few months of pandemic response prompted almost 100 entries from beyond the community, including 11-year-old Spencer Lovett who drove three hours to enter his work, “Kept.”

And as with almost everything this year, the response to the coronavirus pandemic reshaped her vision of the show originally scheduled for April, but it did not shut down her desire to host the show now firmly set for Aug. 14.

In the meantime, she continued working and drawing from the circumstances that have defined this year. She built a piece featuring items donated by people across the community that represented the things canceled or missed due to the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Each of these items were hung above a sink placed along a wall of her gallery and appeared to all be flowing into it, and from the drain underneath came a series of notes and letters expressing the feelings of those who contributed or had something to share about how this year has affected them. The piece – titled “Cleansing Ourselves of One Another” – gave those who do not work full time as artists the chance to express their feelings.

“With everything that’s happening, I just wanted to start creating the things I need,” Wright said. “I miss people, but I can’t be with people.

“In sharing these stories, people feel like we’re doing something together even though we can’t see each other.”

The idea struck her that there were many stories people could tell from this time of distancing and isolation, and the “I Miss Your Face” show was born. Wanting a precursor show to the professional show she was coordinating, she opened an invitation for anyone to contribute to a juried art show featuring portraits of faces. By the deadline at the end of July, she received almost 100 pieces from beyond just the local community.

“Some of these people had never submitted to a show before, and the talent is incredible,” Wright said.

The community show – which happened Aug. 5-7 – took on a life of its own as sponsors stepped up to offer prizes for “I Miss Your Face,” and the response confirmed for Wright that at times like those people have experienced for the last five months, art becomes a necessity for some to be able to navigate what could feel like chaos.

“I thought art could be a way to give people some sustenance,” Wright said.

And that’s one of the ways the “opening act” community show helped lead to her to title the Aug. 14 professional show “Sustenance.”

“That word just kept going through my mind,” Wright said. “The reason for it all, I want to provide what I can to get us all through these times.”

The show will provide each artist

their own section to showcase multiple pieces. Some of these will be fresh works on display for the first time. In fact, one piece brought as a preview arrived at Wright’s gallery still a little wet. Some of the pieces will represent the artists’ expressions of how they have faced the events of this year.

The show will be following safety protocols with masks and limitedsized viewing parties in the gallery at one time according to a schedule, Wright said. Those with high risk concerns can contact the gallery for a private appointment.

For more information, call (405) 639-0075, search Art by LeAnne Henry Wright on Facebook or @henrywrightart on Instagram.