DRAWN TOGETHER

DRAWN T ogether I n the past, Amanda Weygand regularly hosted vendor fairs inside her downtown Ottawa art studio, Open Space Art Gallery & Studios. The public would mingle around the space booth to booth, browsing art and listening to live music. Then the pandemic flipped everything on its side. It rendered the art studio’s conventional Third Fridays impossible and forced Weygand to offer something different. “We switched to virtual Third Fridays,” Weygand says. “That was interesting, because me as a business owner had done Facebook Lives before and knew a little about navigating social media live.” Many artists, however, had never sold their art through social media videos. Weygand created a Facebook group for the artists to join and learn about doing a Facebook Live video. “Inside the private group, we told them to go ahead and practice in here until you feel comfortable doing it. “It was really interesting trying to go from an event that was live and in person and then prep everyone and get ready for an event that was fully online,” she says. Ottawa’s and Peru’s arts communities continue creative endeavors in virtual, imaginative ways Story by Stephanie Jaquins Photos provided by Arica DeArcos, NCI ARTworks and Open Space Art Gallery & Studios

NCI ARTworks usually features one artist each month. The gallery is open by appointment only during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Toil and Thyme hosts a booth at an in-person Third Friday, an arts culture and entertainment event in downtown Ottawa.

Once the artists knew what to do, Weygand moved on to the public. “We had to get really creative in explaining and wording how this was going to work, and essentially we linked everybody’s page and made a timeline and told people, ‘It’s as simple as clicking on the link at the time that it tells you and then it’s going to take you to the artist’s page. From there, that artist will be live and you can look at their stuff and purchase, if you want. If it’s a musician, you can donate to them.’ … Now it’s like second nature.”

Many of the artists who participated the year before were eager and enthusiastic.

“For artists, they got hit just as hard as small businesses,” says Weygand. “A lot of artists make their money by talking to people in person and doing commissions and selling stuff at these vendor shows. Without those vendor shows, they had nothing. They don’t have a storefront, most of them. They don’t have a place where they have booths.”

The first virtual Third Friday show in the spring did well, she says, with many artists reporting better sales for the virtual show than in-person ones. It was a needed outlet for the public to shop at a time when small businesses were closed, says Weygand.

A few virtual shows were held in the spring and, in summer, the fair moved outside with booths spaced 30 feet apart, a mask requirement and hand sanitizer available at every booth. The city agreed to shut down the 200 block of West Madison Street in front of the art gallery for the event and has agreed to do so again this summer if needed, Weygand says.

Arica DeArcos, a registered gemologist appraiser with a storefront called Chain, Link & Gemstone Custom Jewelry Design & Appraisal inside Peru’s historic Westclox building, sells her own handcrafted custom gemstone jewelry at the Third Friday events. For DeArcos, it was nice to avoid the hassle of packing up her jewelry and setting up and taking down her booth. She says it was harder to communicate with customers over virtual shows but also notes that customers responded well — so much so, she’s bulking up her virtual presence.

DeArcos also has participated in North Central Illinois ARTworks Second Fridays, which usually feature one artist per month, at the Westclox ARTworks Center. The gallery opens on the second Friday of the month, and the exhibit remains up until the first week of the following month. Featured artists work in a variety of mediums and styles including photography, portraiture, wood turning and abstract.

Due to the pandemic, the gallery is open by appointment only. Jennifer Etscheid, executive director of NCI ARTworks, says events were held right before they closed and another when they first reopened. “We are very thankful to our patrons and volunteers who helped us adhere to social distancing guidelines during both events, and despite a pandemic, they were two of the most successful gallery openings we have ever hosted in our facility,” she says.

In place of in-person events, the gallery has relied on its online presence, Etscheid says. Last spring, it hosted Spring Fling Virtual Art Show, featuring more than 40 entries. Staff also has taken this time to expand the Hallway Gallery. Throughout three hallways of Westclox, visitors can find reproduction pieces of art from local artists and some from the Art Institute of Chicago’s public domain. Etscheid hopes the display connects the community to artists and art that resonates with them.

The pandemic has not slowed the arts community, Etscheid says, but rather inspired it to adapt and evolve. “I’ve seen online classes, pickup art kits, virtual gallery shows and socially distant concerts and festivals when the weather was nicer,” she says. “While the past 10 months have required a learning curve, it’s amazing to see the tenacity of our community.

“Arts is all about community, and our community has never lacked artistic appreciation.”

p Jewelry by Arica DaArcos

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Want to check out local art shows?

To see if art shows are planned during your next visit to Starved Rock Country, check out Open Space Art Gallery & Studios, 223 W. Madison St., Ottawa, at www.osartstudios.com or on Facebook. For North Central Illinois ARTworks inside Westclox in Peru, visit www.nciartworks.com or on Facebook.