Faced with dwindling sales, class registrations and donations, downtown Vancouver’s Sixth Street Gallery is moving its location to cut costs.
Since it will no longer be based at 105 W. Sixth St., the gallery will get a new, yet-to-be-determined name. The move will take place at the end of September, and the gallery is eying a nearby space on Ninth Street.
Last month, Sixth Street Gallery members announced they needed to raise $5,000 by Aug. 8 to keep the gallery afloat. They didn’t reach that goal, but they did drum up several thousand dollars. The exact figure was not available by end of business Thursday, but donations did pick up, and a fashion show fundraiser featuring “Project Runway” winner and Vancouver designer SethAaron Henderson sold out.
The boost wasn’t enough. Faced with the option of closing or moving to a less expensive space, the co-op gallery’s 19 members chose the latter.
The gallery is hoping to lease a space on Ninth Street that will cost several hundred dollars less per month. They submitted a proposal on Thursday and hope to hear from the landlord today. Members plan to meet next week to discuss options for a new name.
Membership dues would cover most if not all the monthly expenses at the proposed Ninth Street location, reducing dependency on sales and other fluctuating sources of income that took a hit during the recession, said Sam MacKenzie, a co-op member and president of Mosaic Arts Alliance, the gallery’s nonprofit parent organization.
Besides cost, another benefit of moving to the Ninth Street location would be proximity to the cluster of galleries on Main Street between 10th and 11th streets, MacKenzie added.
“We kind of refer to it as gallery row,” she said.
Sixth Street Gallery, which signed its lease in October 2004 and had a grand opening in January 2005, will remain open through September. It will explore various definitions of beauty in a show titled “Skin Deep: What Is Beauty?” and will spotlight acrylic paintings by member artist Jamie Lutz Carroll next month.
MacKenzie said the hope is for a seamless transition from the current space to the new location. She wants to have the new gallery open on Oct. 1, in time for the monthly First Friday Art Walk, and said the feeling among members is one of optimism.
“I was hesitant at first (to move), but it’s gotten pretty exciting,” MacKenzie said. “Everyone’s on board, and all the gallery members seem really excited to keep going.”
Mary Ann Albright: 360-735-4507 or maryann.allbright@columbian.com.
