Campaign Story
The Grayson Gallery provides a venue for the arts, where artists can display and sell their work, musicians are paid for their performances, and our community and the region can benefit from creative growth. As an organization, we operate on a small budget and with volunteers only.
From an empty Fire Station slated for demolition, to a pop-up art show in 2011, to our current ten-year agreement to use the space, the growth of the Gallery has impacted our community of Grayson, Carter County, and beyond.
With your support we will multiply our impact by: Improving our displays and merchandising in the Artist Market to increase sales; Expanding art classes and offering more options for both children and adults will improve art education; Creating a stage setting with better lighting and sound will allow a more professional experience for the musicians; Building an up-to-date website that will allow us to track and expand our paid memberships and provide another place to advertise art for sale.
• Our art exhibits have a free opening reception every “F!nal Fr!day” and we have hosted over 100 openings, showcasing hundreds of artists and a great number of musicians. It’s time to celebrate by looking to the future and giving all of our friends an opportunity to be a part of that!
• Pre-COVID, free refreshments were served at all openings, supporting local businesses and feeding some hungry local folks along the way. We now invite a local food truck to provide food and give meal tickets to those who might not be able to afford to pay for dinner.
• We are welcoming to everyone. The large space and huge doors allow easy access to those with special mobility needs, as well as the possibility for showing really big art pieces! The location is found easily (the ol’ fire station, right?) and identified by a 40-foot-long mural, created during a community paint project.
• We serve children with free kid’s art camps; special programs for children with disabilities, an annual student art show with an anti-drug theme; and teaching low-cost children’s art classes.
• We provide programming to women through grants from Kentucky Foundation for Women to support feminism and we celebrate Women’s History Month in March with an all-female art and music show. Many of our shows are themed, with Black History Month, Celebrate the Earth, an October Halloween theme and costumes, and we are planning our first Pride Art Show this June.
• The Artist Market was set up so that works can be exhibited for sale during times other than our opening receptions. There are original paintings, photography, pottery, handmade jewelry, and more. Our commission is only 15%, because the purpose is to put money in the pockets of the artists.
Enjoying an art show, meeting new folks and having a unique experience while eating a snack and hearing a great band? Yes, it’s priceless. Besides feeling “warm & fuzzy” it’s the knowledge that your gift, large or small, has such impact and reach!
Please, won’t you help us continue this mission of ours?
THANK YOU!
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