Downtown Lansing’s Nelson Gallery is celebrating its fifth anniversary this week.
The art gallery on Washington Square has hosted fifteen exhibitions and work from dozens of local artists since 2021. A reception celebrating the milestone is taking place Friday, March 20 from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Proprietor Jen Estill says starting the gallery was, in a way, an accident, after she acquired the downtown building.
"When we were looking around the space, we thought this would just be beautiful with some ceramics on the shelves. And so, I called an artist friend and said, "Hey, what do you think if we start a gallery?" And she called some friends, and we all worked together, and, poof, made a gallery," she explained.
The gallery is named after architect George Nelson who designed the mid-century modern building for the department store, Liebermann's in the 1960s. She says the space's mission is to "fill a beautiful building with beautiful objects."
As conversations continue about how to revitalize downtown Lansing, Estill says supporting the arts will be critical.
"As our downtown grows, we have hundreds of new apartments coming online in the next couple of years, and I guarantee they all need beautiful art for their walls and for their shelves," she said.
"We very intentionally have kept our hours open until seven o'clock at night, which people complain that there's nothing to do here after five in downtown Lansing, and people are wrong when they say that thing."
Estill also says there are other spaces like La Fille Gallery that are making downtown an interesting place to live and visit.
She says the Friday celebration will include champagne and cupcakes to mark the milestone.
"We're very excited to celebrate with our artists that they have trusted us for so long, that our art sales continue to do well and people continue to celebrate," she said. "Any business staying open for five years is difficult, and we know that there's another five,15, 20 or 50 in our future."
Interview Highlights
On creating the gallery
I like to joke that the Nelson Gallery was a bit of an accident. We bought this building downtown on the same block as The Peanut Shop, just around the corner from the Capitol, because we loved it, and it was beautiful. And it was built and designed in the mid-60s by an architect called George Nelson, also a really famous product designer. And when we were looking around the space, we thought this would just be beautiful with some ceramics on the shelves. And so, I called an artist friend and said, "Hey, what do you think if we start a gallery?" And she called some friends, and we all worked together, and, poof, made a gallery. So, to answer your question about the mission, we sort of made it up as we went along, and I think part of that mission is to fill a beautiful building with beautiful objects.
On arts being a part of downtown Lansing
Art is what makes a place worth being. Art is where we see people's expression and personality and a place really come to life. And so, I think art in downtown is going to be critical. As our downtown grows, we have hundreds of new apartments coming online in the next couple of years, and I guarantee they all need beautiful art for their walls and for their shelves. And so we're excited about that. We very intentionally have kept our hours open until seven o'clock at night, which people complain that there's nothing to do here after five in downtown Lansing, and people are wrong when they say that thing.
On the gallery's fifth anniversary reception
We're celebrating our fifth anniversary with cupcakes and champagne. We're very excited to celebrate with our artists that they have trusted us for so long, that our art sales continue to do well and people continue to celebrate. So, we are looking forward to really just cheering ourselves on on that milestone. Any business staying open for five years is difficult, and we know that there's another five,15, 20 or 50 in our future.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: Downtown Lansing’s Nelson Gallery is celebrating its fifth anniversary this week.
The art gallery on Washington Square has hosted fifteen exhibitions and work from dozens of local artists since 2021.
I stopped by to talk to proprietor Jen Estill about the milestone and cultivating spaces for creativity downtown. I started by asking her to describe the mission behind the space.
Jen Estill: I like to joke that the Nelson Gallery was a bit of an accident. We bought this building downtown on the same block as The Peanut Shop, just around the corner from the Capitol, because we loved it, and it was beautiful. And it was built and designed in the mid-60s by an architect called George Nelson, also a really famous product designer. And when we were looking around the space, we thought this would just be beautiful with some ceramics on the shelves.
And so, I called an artist friend and said, "Hey, what do you think if we start a gallery?" And she called some friends, and we all worked together, and, poof, made a gallery. So, to answer your question about the mission, we sort of made it up as we went along, and I think part of that mission is to fill a beautiful building with beautiful objects, and part of that mission is to give artists in town a space to create and show off what they do.
Saliby: What does it mean to have this legacy of being in a place that was focused on arts and now still keeping it with that same goal here in downtown?
Estill: We really love downtown Lansing, and I like to look back at the many, many, many eras that it's had. This space was originally Liebermann's, which, of course, was a lovely department store back in the day. For us, it means bringing back beautiful and thoughtful things to the downtown landscape.
It means betting on the fact that folks in Lansing and who visit Lansing love and respect artwork and want to support it and see it succeed.
Saliby: I think about it's just been a year since the Lansing Art Gallery and Education Center closed, a real anchor here in downtown. Has the greater arts community felt that loss? And kind of how has that loss impacted businesses like yours?
Estill: I do think the art community feels that loss, and really looks back at 60 years of Lansing Art Gallery with some fondness and some sadness. We were very lucky to be good friends with them, and in fact, some of their archives are here in our building right now. We're holding them until we find the next iteration of what to do.
What we have found is artists in our community are always looking for community and space and places to gather and celebrate, and we're happy to be able to offer some of that space for our friends.
Saliby: I think there's a lot of conversations that are always happening about how can downtown Lansing be more vibrant. And a lot of times that comes up with more restaurants and bars, more places for live music, more housing. How does arts figure into that conversation do you think when you think about the future of downtown?
Estill: Art is what makes a place worth being. Art is where we see people's expression and personality and a place really come to life. And so, I think art in downtown is going to be critical. As our downtown grows, we have hundreds of new apartments coming online in the next couple of years, and I guarantee they all need beautiful art for their walls and for their shelves. And so we're excited about that.
We very intentionally have kept our hours open until seven o'clock at night, which people complain that there's nothing to do here after five in downtown Lansing, and people are wrong when they say that thing. There's lots of interesting things going on here.
I will also note, you know, I'm not the only art in downtown Lansing, and La Fille Gallery has been doing a great job for quite some time. There's a nice new art pop up on Michigan Ave. right now that's going through April and more will come.
Saliby: How is the Nelson gallery celebrating its fifth anniversary?
Estill: We're celebrating our fifth anniversary with cupcakes and champagne. We're very excited to celebrate with our artists that they have trusted us for so long, that our art sales continue to do well and people continue to celebrate.
So, we are looking forward to really just cheering ourselves on on that milestone. Any business staying open for five years is difficult, and we know that there's another five, 15, 20 or 50 in our future.
Saliby: That was Nelson Gallery proprietor Jen Estill. The gallery is holding its free fifth anniversary reception Friday from 5:30-7:00 p.m. RSVPs are appreciated.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
