Fresh Gallery to close in November

Fresh Gallery, the cooperative art gallery operated under the fiscal agency of the Springfield Regional Arts Council, announced via a social media post yesterday that it will be shuttering on Nov. 23. 

The gallery at 401 N. Boonville Ave., formed by SRAC in 2009, is home to some 20 artists who collaborate on its day-to-day operation while SRAC handles its accounting. 

The Facebook announcement by the gallery states, “For everything there is a season. The time has come for Fresh Gallery to come to a close on Nov. 23.” 

No explanation is given for the decision to close. 

Leslie Forrester, executive director of SRAC, said conversations about possible closure of the gallery had been happening for several months, as stakeholders examined models of how galleries, and especially cooperative galleries, had changed over time.  

“We needed to make a change,” she said. 

Forrester said when Fresh Gallery was established, there weren’t nearly the number of opportunities as there are now for artists to show and sell their work. 

She said running a cooperative gallery involves a lot of hard work by the artists involved. Although the arts council handles the bookkeeping, the artists themselves determine how the gallery is to be set up and who will staff it during open hours. 

“Looking at how people are buying art and where they’re buying art, the feasibility of the current model had to change,” she said. 

An announcement of the closure from SRAC states, “Over time, both the needs and preferences of buyers and artists have evolved, making it increasingly difficult to sustain the cooperative gallery model.” It adds that after much study, the SRAC board and the Fresh Gallery artist community collectively agreed it was time to close. 

SRAC is in the study phase of developing a strategic plan that will cover the cultural needs of the community and surrounding region. That plan will help SRAC to determine community needs, which may be more gallery space, more studio space for the creation of artworks, or more administrative or rehearsal space for organizations. 

“We have to make sure what we put community resources toward actually serves the needs of the community,” Forrester said. “There are a lot of needs, and we’re definitely studying all potential options.” 

It’s possible that instead of supporting its own gallery, SRAC would benefit artists more by supporting other existing galleries. 

“The question we have to ask is what is not there to allow the creative economy in Springfield and southwest Missouri to really thrive? What’s missing that we can provide?” she said. “If gallery space is not needed, what else can we do? It’s really a yes-and conversation – not just a one-sided approach.” 

A request for proposals for the SRAC strategic plan is being finalized now, Forrester said, noting it will have an external-facing side that is a cultural plan for the region. Ideally, SRAC would like to have the plan done by the next fiscal year, she said.  

As for the Fresh Gallery, Forrester said she is sad to see it close, both as an arts administrator and as a shopper. 

“It’s the seasons of things,” she said, adding SRAC is grateful to the artists, patrons and supporters who made the gallery a vital part of Springfield’s creative landscape. 

Forrester added that as the closure approaches, SRAC will make sure to announce where the Fresh Gallery artists will display and sell their work in the future.