Last week, the Cavan/Millbrook Historical Society hosted an event to celebrate a unique enterprise that contributed to the local art scene 30 years ago.
The Millbrook Gallery operated at __ King Street from1995 to 2002, bringing beauty and class to the local downtown area. Three founding members of the group of artists, Barb Walker, Jane Wilson and Bill Slavin, discussed the evolution of the gallery aided by series of photos illustrating the events, the art and the culture fostered in this unique storefront in the heart of Millbrook.
The gallery began rather spontaneously in March 1995 during a Maple Fest event when one of the organizers asked Jane Wilson if she would be able to set up an art display in a vacant store front for the weekend to make the downtown area more appealing for visitors. After calls to 20 local artists, a group was corralled and a display of various original local work was setup as to add another interesting feature to the maple weekend festivities.
The show earned rave reviews, so of course the participants discussed whether they could continue to use the facility as a gallery for their works on an ongoing basis. The concept was quickly deemed impractical, time consuming and financially irresponsible, so of course the artists decided to proceed.
Thus began a six-year venture where a group of eighteen artists, many of whom had just met, established a co-operative art gallery in which they could showcase and sell their work. The deal was that each participant chipped in to cover the monthly overhead costs and took a shift manning the gallery. Commission rates which were set intentionally low, so art sales helped offset operating costs. Some members took on regular responsibilities. Barb Walker managed the books, and while Jane Wilson and Jo Ellen Brydon mounted every piece in every show. New shows were usually launched every six weeks. John Ireland would answer the call to create new shelving, furniture or display props as required. Esperanca Melo prepared posters and invitations for each show. Because this was before the digital age invitations had to be sent by Canada Post to a list of roughly 500 supporters for each show. There were work parties to set up the shows followed by Opening Exhibition parties featuring food, drink and comraderie.
By nature most artists work alone. The gallery connected artists creating in a wide variety of media, including wood, clay, acrylics, oil and fabric. The collaboration of these artists expanded the vision and inspired new directions in their work. Occasionally this collaboration was put on display ingroup shows featuring regular cooperative members and invited artists. As the gallery evolved, shows expanded to include readings by poets and authors with musical interludes provided by local musicians.
At the beginning of each year, members would put together a schedule of events for the upcoming year. In 2002, energy had begun to wane. Looking ahead, most participants decided they were not able to continue the pace required to keep the gallery operating at its peak. With much reluctance, the group hosted their last show entitled “Gone Fishing”.
The gallery may be gone but it’s not forgotten. Group shows continue on a much smaller scale in the annual fall weekend event hosted by Jane Wilson called Open Studio. For the last five years, she has hosted an art show featuring many of the Gallery members in the studio of her late husband and fellow artist, Ted Hodgetts.
Members and their supporters saw the efforts of this energetic group of artists as “cultural activism” and recognized that while they were sharing their artistic visions, they were also building a community.