The artists are in charge at East Colony

By Felicia Menard
HippoPress.com

At the East Colony Fine Art Gallery, the artists do everything from creating the exhibits to sweeping the floors.

East Colony's 21 member artists share in the duties such as coordinating exhibitions, gallery sitting, publicity, treasury, secretary, housekeeping, and organizing events such as the holiday open house scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 23 from 1 to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 24 from 2 to 4 p.m.

East Colony began as a small, several-artist gallery operated by director Dale Tremblay Begley in Pelham. Begley recently found a new 2,400-square-foot location for the gallery at an old loading dock in Langer Place on Commercial Street. She liked the location in the mills, being on street level and having the front exposure. With the help of Shauna Duffy Smith and Randy Knowles, the gallery's assistant directors, the gallery was renovated and opened its doors in Manchester in June 2002.

"(The impetus for) creating this type of gallery is the camaraderie of the core artists from the Pelham gallery," Begley said. Since art is a solitary profession, the gallery offers working together as a network of peers to its members. The members can build on each other's energy and have the ability to bounce ideas off each other. A critique night is offered each month as a perk for the member artists.

"The artists feel like they are part of the community. They aren't just dropping off their work," Begley said. Each month a member's work is featured in the gallery as another benefit of membership. This month, poetic landscape imagery by Shauna Duffy Smith is displayed.

A member-run gallery can have its problems.

"Having members who work as a team is key to the gallery's success," Begley said.

To be considered as a member, the artist must possess a good show record and must demonstrate artwork of high quality. Personality-including that team spirit and the ability to talk up other artists' work-is also weighed.

All of the member artists are from the Manchester area and are members of the Manchester Art Association. The connection with the Manchester Art Association explains the abundance of pastels on the gallery walls. However, high quality oil painting, watercolor, collage, and sculpture are also shown.

In addition to monthly member meetings, the gallery's board of directors meets once a month to vote on policy changes and to take care of the business decisions.

Running a gallery is typically a time-consuming process. The member-run arrangement allows Begley time for her work. "Making art is my first priority," Begley said.

The open house celebrates the start of the holiday season. Many of the member artists will attend to meet the public and answer questions. East Colony Fine Art is located at 55 South Commercial St., at Langer Place. Telephone: 621-7400. Hours: Wed. & Fri. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thurs, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sun. noon to 4 p.m. (November and December only.) Holiday Deja-Vu Theme Night, Thursday, Dec. 5, 6 to 8 p.m.

Felicia Menard can be reached at hippo@hippopress.com