The MEDIUM is the Message
By Carole Brodsky, for the Ukiah Daily Journal
For years, a changing group of local residents gathered with a shared purpose of creating more opportunities for artists to create and display their work. At this month’s First Friday Art Walk, the public will have an op- portunity to celebrate the efforts of three of those individuals who are supporting artists and pre- senting art — lots of it — to the Ukiah area.
On Friday, July 2, the Deep Valley Arts Collective opens MEDIUM — the organizations’ gallery, located in the former Radio Shack building in Ukiah’s Pear Tree Center.
The non-profit collective will be unveiling its first live art show entitled “Prologue,” which features the work of over 50 artists, according to collective co-founders Meredith Hudson, Chris Pugh and Lillian Rubie.
The co-founders and non-profit board members were part of informal discussion sessions with others at Black Oak Coffee Roasters beginning in 2017.
Several of us in the arts community were discussing how to bring new energy into the Ukiah Valley arts scene,” explains board Vice-President and professional photographer Chris Pugh.
“At that time, we created core values and a mission statement that has carried us forward to today,” says Meredith Hudson, printmaker and the organization’s treasurer/secretary.
“Shortly thereafter, our lives went in different directions,” notes mixed-media artist, costumer and board President Lillian Rubie. Following that hiatus, an Arts Incubator group facilitated by Alyssum Wier of the Arts Council of Mendocino County convened to address the effect of the 2017 fires on the arts community.
“It was determined the fires seriously affected the arts,” continues Pugh. Meetings continued into 2019, and Pugh encouraged Rubie to attend the open door sessions.
“At the same time, Una Wirkebau, the executive director of the Greater Ukiah Business and Tourism Alliance expressed interest in supporting the arts. She was very enthusiastic about trying to secure a multipurpose arts space,” says Rubie, who had taken a position with the Alliance. “Our group continued meeting, but between the on-set of the pandemic, unemployment, and lack of funds, those efforts ground to a halt in February 2020.”
Undaunted, Pugh and Rubie continued to move forward. In April of 2020 they reached out to Phoenix Trent — a nonprofit adviser located on the Mendocino Coast.
“Phoenix had created an maker space which was similar in concept to our idea for our or- ganization. He recognized the need and donated consultation time. He gave us a task list and we started the nonprofit paperwork process in May of 2020,” says Pugh.
“A non-profit board is required to have three members. Lillian and I both knew we wanted Meredith to be involved,” he continues.
“When I got the message from Chris and Lillian, I was really tickled. When we had been meeting in 2017 and 2018, we’d shared the same vision. The formation of the non-profit was close to my heart. The idea contained all the things we’d wanted to do,” Meredith Hudson explains.
“But they don’t make nonprofit applications easy,” says Rubie. She and Hudson did the heavy lifting when it came to the non-profit application process. “It was a huge learning process,” says Hudson. Because of the pandemic, it took almost a year before the collective received their 501(c)3 status in January 2021.
During lockdown, the group decided to create their first virtual art show.
“There were so many issues and turmoil in the world, but given the pandemic, what could we do?” says Pugh. “We created a virtual show with the theme of ‘Dear America.’ We had a great response. There were many strong, powerful entries, and the interest gave us a big confidence boost.”
Following the success of their first show, they continued to work on honing the collective’s structure and decided to have a second exhibit.
“Vaccines were rolling out; we had a new president and things were beginning to normalize. Our second show, ‘Fresh Eyes’ opened in March of this year. The content was lighter but still very meaningful, and again, we were overwhelmed by the number of responses,” says Pugh. “We had so many responses we had to jury the show.”
“The two shows helped to reinforce our mission: to create a culture that nur-tures artists’ development and success while contrib- uting to the well-being of our community,” says Hudson. Both virtual shows are still available for viewing on the collective’s website. The group is surprised by the number of “unknown” artists submitting work, by the diversity of the art submitted and the high level of the artists’ expertise and facility. “We received submissions from people who have never shown anything and from artists we’d never heard of,” says Pugh. “One artist teared up — grateful to have an opportunity to show their work for the first time.” Following the Fresh Eyes exhibit, the collective was contacted by the Business Development Manager of CIRE Equity — the owners of the Pear Tree Center. “The corporation that owns Pear Tree is interested in mutually beneficial partnerships between the shopping center and the community. Kelly Price, CIRE’s de- velopment manager reached out to Alyssum Wier to or- ganize a meeting of artists and community members to discuss possible projects for vacant shopping center properties,” explains Rubie. “Chris and I decided to attend the Zoom meeting. It turned out we were the only people on the call. We put together a proposal, listened to their offer of partnership, and they accepted — all in one day. We worked out a contract, signed the lease and picked up the keys in April,” says Pugh.
The former Radio Shack location will not be large enough to encompass the group’s long-term plans, but it is perfectly suitable for exhibits, workshops, lectures and community- oriented events.
“In addition to managing this gallery space, our long- term vision includes creating other types of art opportunities: life drawing, an art critique group, screenings, presentations by artists and incorporating a holistic view that artists require elements like proper workspaces, access to tools and inspiration from fellow artists working nearby,” says Hudson.
The group hired a contractor to remove wires and electrical components left over from the Radio Shack infrastructure. “We needed to turn the space into a gallery. We were responsible for all aspects of the construction. Old carpeting had to be replaced and we spackled and painted the walls to prepare them for hanging art,” says Pugh. But, he noted, flooring, spackle and paint cost money.
“It wasn’t an immensely expensive project, but the startup costs were beyond our reach. We discussed fundraising, taking into account that a gallery was not part of our original plan. Workshops are easier to monetize, but we are still limited due to the pandemic. We decided to create a GoFundMe, and have been gratified by the sup- port,” says Rubie.
Rather than charge artists commissions on sales or artist fees, the collective is developing a novel fundraising and business model including grant-seeking and other ways to raise revenue. “Sadly, artist fees can easily be the difference between artists submitting or not submitting. We’re hoping to help to level the playing field for artists,” says Hudson. The “why” of the Deep Valley Arts Collective is, according to Pugh, “complicated and multifaceted.”
“Art can feel very exclusive. We want to bring people together as a community while providing much-needed resources for artists. One of our key goals is to be an encouraging presence in the community, so that the people understand this organization is a resource for them and that they can be a part by sharing ideas, time and art. This is about community betterment,” says Rubie.
“Many of the artists displaced by the fires still don’t have places to create or show art. Most like to work in a solitary fashion. Some people don’t want to put themselves out for fear of rejection. Some need to learn how to get started as an artist,” says Pugh. The collective hopes to help artists bridge these gaps.
“Thus far, we’ve had over 100 artists submit their work. We had 124 submissions for our upcoming show. It’s grown each time, and our first live exhibit will feature 41 artists using all types of media, at every level of experience and age,” says Pugh. “For our First Friday show, we had an avalanche of amazing submissions,” smiles Hudson. The collective accepts and encourages artists from all locations to submit their work.
Pugh has been in the gallery all week welcoming artists as they drop off pieces for the show.
“There are at least five artists who have never shown their work in a gallery before. I can tell they’re nervous, so I reassure them. I tell them, ‘We are doing this for people just like you — to have your work seen and appreciated by the community,” he concludes.
The opening takes place from 5 to 8p.m.and the show will be up for two months. The gallery is accepting donations and will be announcing hours of operation and upcoming events at https://www.deepvalleyarts.org.
