A new fine art cooperative is opening their doors to the community for the first time on Friday, October 21. Downtown Artist Collective will premiere three new spaces, a gallery, a workshop and a studio space, where artists can create work and interact with the community. The grand opening features art from all members of the collective, including local favorites Chris Bodily and Jake Buntier. Beginning at 6 p.m., they invite Salt Lake residents to come celebrate fine art, enjoy refreshments and listen to live music from “The Bookends” and Gillian Chase.
The collective began when Amy Leininger, local supporter of the arts, and artist Desarae Lee met and discovered they had the same desire to provide a new space to showcase local talent.
“I’ve felt the lack of an active, collaborative arts community for people who do the type of work that I do and I saw a chance to create that space for myself and for others,” Lee said.
As the collective began to grow, a new mission was added in the form of community outreach. By connecting with locals, the collective wants to create an environment of art exposure and education, which they hope will inspire blossoming artists.
“We want to cultivate relationships with organizations and people in our community, a place where questions can be asked, mistakes made, and artists born,” Downtown Artist Collective board member Sarah May said.
The Downtown Artist Collective is a newly founded co-op and located at 258 East 100 South in Downtown Salt Lake City. Members of the community will have the opportunity to meet artists, interact with their work and sign up for the collective’s upcoming workshops and classes during the event. For more information on The Downtown Artist Collective, click here.
-Brieanna Olds
