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Courtesy of Lindsay Breidenbach |
Bellwether Gallery of Arts is located within the Randy Bacon Photo Studio and Art Gallery on 600 W. College Street, Springfield, MO. |
Evangel art students to display work off campus
By Jonathan Hatter
STAFF WRITER
Evangel has never had its own art gallery off campus. Now, thanks to the efforts of students and faculty, it does.
The Bellwether Gallery, part of the Randy Bacon Gallery downtown, will be leased to Evangel for a six month trial. The 1,250 square-foot gallery will showcase the work of Evangel students as soon as the March 5th Art Walk.
Lindsay Breidenbach, senior, sparked the movement for an off- campus gallery in late August when she sent an email out to various people throughout the school. The idea was taken up by a coalition of staff members and students who then formed the Bellwether Committee, which included Prof. Michael Buesking and many others.
“It truly is fantastic that we can now have a place off campus to show student art work,” said Buesking, Professor of art. “The students need outside exposure and this gallery offers it. It isn’t unusual for 2,000 people to go through Bacon’s gallery during an Art Walk.”
Negotiations have been ongoing for months, with Bacon asking $1,000 per month for the lease. Three weeks ago, his price dropped drastically to $400 per month, with a $60 fee to be listed with the other galleries during the Art Walk. Bacon will still be managing the gallery for Evangel. The Bellwether Committee was given financial support first from the Humanities department and LifeWorks, and finally from the ESGA senate, making this project a reality.
“It was all God, really,” said Breidenbach, an art major. “It is incredible to have this dream realized. Now, our goal is to make it self-sustaining.”
The gallery has seen significant traffic through it for the past four Art Walks when Bacon invited students to show their work. Over 900 people were counted going through the Bellwether Gallery during the October Art Walk alone.
Factors such as student response, comments from visitors and traffic through the gallery will determine the gallery’s success at the end of the six months.
“It is really cool that we have a place to show our work off campus so that people can see it. I’m glad we have the gallery,” Gwen Gagne, junior art major, said.