Wanted: Artists for Opera House Gallery (yes, there is one!)

by Joan O'Neill

Art comes in many forms. At the Traverse City Opera House (COH), the form is usually of the on-stage type. Comedians. Actors. Conversations as part of the National Writers Series. Musicians. Performances by talented individuals in front of an audience.

Lesser well known is COH’s dedication to the visual arts through its Local Artist Gallery program. Each month, COH serves as a venue in which artists can display the world through their eyes in the form of their paintings, photographs and sketches, exposing his or her work to the thousands of Opera House-goers that typically walk through the doors each month.

“People do not think of the City Opera House as a gallery,” says COH’s Dan Beaudoin, who books the artists and manages the gallery program. “But we have had quite an eclectic collection of artwork here over the years.”

COH is now on a quest to attract additional artists to help complete its 2012-2013 gallery calendar.

“We’ll feature both established and new artists,” says Beaudoin adding that artists can even collaborate with one another in a joint exhibition.

The location of the gallery within the Opera House is along the storied walls of the second floor lobby, which serves as the entrance and intermission area for all performances, as well as an oft-rented space for the many weddings and private functions COH hosts each year. The general public is welcome to meander through the COH to view the talent displayed along its walls, and can do so every day from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., providing that a private function is not being held.

The Local Artist Gallery program began three years ago as a way to support the local arts community and to help raise funds for COH’s operating expenses, Beaudoin says. Artists are not charged for the gallery space, but are required to pay a commission on any work sold. They are also encouraged and incentivized by COH to host a reception at the Opera House as a way to kick off their exhibit and gain exposure for their work.

Local artists wanting to display their art need to fill out an application and submit up to 15 examples of their work in .jpg file format. A committee will then look at each submission for its audience appeal, the medium used and whether logistically the artwork will work within the COH space. To learn more or to apply, artists should contact Dan Beaudoin at COH at 941-8082, ext. 201 or email admin@cityoperahouse.org.