The Lansing Art Gallery and Education Center is closing in April.
For 60 years, the gallery has offered exhibition space as well as educational resources and programs. It also hosted the annual ArtPath public art exhibition along the Lansing River Trail.
Leaders of the gallery have said the space was facing a budget shortfall caused by a decrease in revenue and grant funding.
Now, the gallery will hold a closing reception on April 3. Several pieces of art from its permanent collection will be on sale to help pay the space's outstanding debts. Any excess money collected will go to REACH Studio Art Center. Other pieces not on sale might go to the city of Lansing.
WKAR's Sophia Saliby spoke with Board Chair for the Gallery Rachel Beatty about the closure. She's encouraging people to dress in their "most vibrant, colorful apparel" for the closing event.
Interview Highlights
On what led to the closure
Just navigating the post-COVID apocalypse, we started having a shortage in revenue and funding. But it wasn't until this past year that it really was brought to light that we weren't going to be able to pay payroll with the shortages, with our costs. So with that, we kind of pivoted to have a volunteer-based staffing, and that helped save some funding. However, we needed to find a succession plan and ways to support that succession plan moving forward and with so much short-term uncertainty, it was hard to get long-term funding.
On the continuation of some of the gallery's programs
I don't want to give any confirmations right now, but I have been in the works of seeing if other organizations can absorb some of our legacy programs that we have. I'm hoping that we can make a bigger announcement on that at our closing reception on April 3.
On the gallery's closing reception
We just want this to be more of a celebration of just uplifting and just sharing stories through the gallery's history. I'm telling people to dress in their most vibrant, colorful apparel that you have because I don't want this to feel like a funeral. This is something that we want people to still feel connected to our community and positive outcome of it.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: The Lansing Art Gallery and Education Center will permanently close its doors at the end of next month.
For 60 years, the gallery has offered exhibition space as well as educational resources and programs. It also hosted the annual ArtPath public art exhibition along the Lansing River Trail.
Leaders of the gallery have said the space was facing a budget shortfall caused by a decrease in revenue and grant funding.
I’m here with now Board Chair for the Gallery Rachel Beatty to talk about the closure. Thank you for joining us.
Rachel Beatty: Thank you for having me.
Saliby: I want to go back a little bit to last September when the gallery closed briefly and staff were laid off. It really felt sudden and out of nowhere. So, how long was the gallery dealing with financial issues until this all came to a head?
Beatty: Since we moved to this new location, right after the beginning of COVID, we started seeing a significant decline. I think COVID impacted, really, everyone, everywhere in the world, but for us, moving to a different space at that time, but also just navigating the post-COVID apocalypse, we started having a shortage in revenue and funding.
With so much short-term uncertainty, it was hard to get long-term funding.
But it wasn't until this past year that it really was brought to light that we weren't going to be able to pay payroll with the shortages, with our costs. So with that, we kind of pivoted to have a volunteer-based staffing, and that helped save some funding.
However, we needed to find a succession plan and ways to support that succession plan moving forward and with so much short-term uncertainty, it was hard to get long-term funding.
Saliby: On that note, can you talk about why closing is the right decision now?
Beatty: It's with such a heavy heart, just closing now we unfortunately cannot pay our financial commitments at this time. April is really the last month of us being able to afford our fixed expenses, such as rent, utility, phone, internet.
There's so many programs that we have to pay subscription costs with, such as Submittable, which is how artists submit their artwork for review. So, really that came down to the crunch line of why it had to be now in order to make sure that we can pay our outstanding debts.
Saliby: Have there been conversations about other entities taking over some of the gallery programs like ArtPath?
Beatty: Yes, I don't want to give any confirmations right now, but I have been in the works of seeing if other organizations can absorb some of our legacy programs that we have. I'm hoping that we can make a bigger announcement on that at our closing reception on April 3.
Saliby: Speaking of this closing reception, what can people expect from that event?
Beatty: Yeah, so this event, we really want to make it more uplifting. It's a celebration of our 60 years that we've been in the community and really show that although we're closing, it doesn't reflect how the Lansing arts community is. We are resilient. We are strong. There's plenty of programs and art services in Lansing, and during this event, we will have some other arts organizations there, providing information about the services that they provide to the arts community.
Although we're closing, it doesn't reflect how the Lansing arts community is. We are resilient. We are strong. There's plenty of programs and art services in Lansing.
We'll also have our permanent art collection that has over 60 years worth of art that has been collected through the organization. Some of this will be available for purchase, just because, when we are closing our space, we don't want that artwork to go anywhere else but to the hands of those arts connoisseurs in the Lansing arts who will appreciate fine art for a priced-to-go cost.
We will also be having a silent auction for Embrace, a sculpture by renowned international artists Mark Chatterley, which is valued at $14,000 but our bidding is going to start at $4,000. Again, it's a beautiful piece. We've had it in our permanent art collection for, I think, almost 15 years. Many people comment on it when they see it. During this closing reception too, we have the gallery's last solo exhibition, which is Dog Days by artist
Yve Holtzclaw. It'll be displayed in our mezzanine gallery.
We just want this to be more of a celebration of just uplifting and just sharing stories through the gallery's history. I'm telling people to dress in their most vibrant, colorful apparel that you have because I don't want this to feel like a funeral. This is something that we want people to still feel connected to our community and positive outcome of it.
Saliby: Rachel Beatty is the Board Chair of the Lansing Art Gallery and Education Center. The space's closing reception is scheduled for April 3 from 5-8 p.m. Thank you for joining us.
Beatty: Thank you for having me.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
The Lansing Art Gallery and Education Center has been a financial supporter of WKAR.
