The title of the virtual exhibition says it all: Come As You Are.
At the nonprofit Side Street Studio Arts in Elgin, the two-month-old online exhibit offers a bit of everything by everyone. All ages and abilities have submitted their artistic works that range from paintings to poetry and everything in between.
“What I wanted to see out of this is that artists are creating during this time. We wanted to introduce this to push people — don’t just sit down and watch TV. Get up, go and do your work — do your practice — and then that share it with us,” said Tanner Melvin, co-founder/executive director of Side Street.
“Even works in progress. We wanted to see that. We still want to see that. We want to make sure that everyone knows this is a place they can try things.”
Since launching the gallery on its website, sidestreetstudioarts.org, in mid-March as the coronavirus pandemic forced the temporary closure of buildings and businesses, about 90 artists have submitted their work. Melvin said he and fellow Side Street Co-Founder/Executive Director Erin Rehberg began thinking about how to serve the community during this unusual time.
“We work with artists that are across the spectrum, from visual art to audio art to textile, sculpture, painting and music and all these different mediums,” Melvin said. “We thought ‘how can we adapt what we’re doing for the current situation?'”
The idea, he said, is to provide accessibility to those who can’t visit galleries, along with the ability for artists to share their works.
“We really just wanted to provide accessibility to local artists,” he said. “By utilizing the utility of the Internet, we were able to go global … It’s really grown into it’s own animal.”
Submissions have come from all over the U.S. as well as Europe and Asia, with pretty much every medium represented at this point, he said. Anyone can submit their work through the Side Street website, and there is no submission fee. No commercial artwork or direct marketing/advertising is allowed, and Side Street reserves the right to deny anything deemed inappropriate, such as hate speech.
Artists are asked not to submit more than once a week, and the online gallery is updated with new pieces every Monday. The exhibit will remain online through the end of the year. Any art sales are done directly with the artists; Side Street is not involved and receives no commission.
Batavia artist Natalie Pivoney, who teaches are at Creekside Elementary School in Elgin, volunteers at Side Street and is a board member of Purple Window Gallery, has submitted two works to the exhibit so far.
“What a fantastic way to share artwork when you can’t physically go and see it,” she said. “Such a big part of art-making is expressing or communicating and connecting. So when you can’t do that in person, it just sort of doesn’t feel finished almost.
“I love that Side Street and other galleries are doing what they can to make art-viewing still something we can experience,” Pivoney said. “Even if it’s not the real thing, it’s still nice to see what people are making and how they’re responding.”
The first piece she submitted, an oil painting called “Untitled,” was created with other artists.
“We got on a Zoom call one night and we each created on the spot,” she said. “And I thought this would be a pretty cool piece to show on the Internet, because it was sort of made because of the Internet.”
Des Plaines artist David Bremer said he is impressed with the variety of art he has seen in the online gallery. Bremer, who paints, draws and sculpts, said he is glad Side Street has given artists an opportunity to submit their artwork online.
“With this whole pandemic, I wasn’t able to find any other opportunities,” he said. “The online gallery show with Side Street — that was the only online gallery I was able to find.”
He currently has a painting titled “Rainbow and Hearts Color Pattern,” in the exhibit, and is thinking of submitting a drawing, he said.
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Elgin resident Mary Sweeney, whose art alias is Horror Floral, said the exhibit is “kind of a cool way for people to move forward virtually, even if it’s virtually releasing art.”
By being a virtual exhibit, more people have been able to participate, she said.
There are two Horror Floral pieces in the online gallery, both of which are sold. One was already sold when she posted, and the other later sold through her Instagram page. Her works combine antique finds with ethically sourced bones and flowers left at funeral homes. Her piece “Spring Collection” features an ethically sourced butterfly and possum skull with dried funeral flowers in a glass box.
Sweeney, who is a teacher assistant at Elgin Math and Science Academy, had been working as the administrative assistant at Side Street for a little over a year before the pandemic closures.
“I just feel like the whole world, as soon as we started doing the stay at home, flipped the switch very quickly and things went online and virtually pretty smoothly,” she said.
With the Come As You Are exhibit, artists are not limited by a specific title or theme for the show, “but this one is anything and everything is art, so you can put it up there.
The exhibit, Melvin said, “is a work in progress still, even after these couple months.
“It’s gone over so well, that we absolutely feel we can make this a larger component of Side Street on the digital and virtual side. We are also looking at creating an installation of some sort based on the digital submissions,” he said.
“What that looks like is not concrete by any means. But we’re trying to utilize the resources that we have as well as new resources that we’ve gained over the past couple months. We’re really trying to figure out a way to make art out of art.
“The sky is the limit for this,” he said.
Come As You Are: A Virtual Exhibit for the Ages
When: Now through the rest of 2020
Where: sidestreetstudioarts.org
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Courier-News.