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Art Presence gets new look By Tony Boom Sep 24, 2022 12:30 AM A A Jacksonville cooperative also has new leadership Paula Bandy is the new executive director of Art Presence art center in Jacksonville. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune] Jacksonville’s Art Presence cooperative art center has it first paid employee, a new paint job and a new logo as the organization evolves to become a premier art location and to offer more events. Paula Bandy has been named half-time executive director. Bandy, who writes a wine column for the Mail Tribune, takes over leadership from founder and director Anne Brooke, who will pivot her attention to offering more classes at the center. “Paula is essentially taking my place. I’m 81, and it’s time for me to go after 10 years,” said Brooke. “I will be ever-present to mentor her for a time. Things come up that you don’t expect. She brings a new face and a new direction to the gallery.” “We have to try to get better known. We need people to look at the place,” said Bandy. She said when she mentions the center, she finds people in other local towns don’t know about it. Bandy has been special events coordinator for the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City and has worked for other arts organizations. She’s also been a librarian, worked in fashion and currently writes for other publications and creates jewelry. “We really want to bring people in for talks, special events, music, wine tastings, things like that,” said Bandy. “This is a hidden gem that people don’t know about. We plan to really put it up on the fine-art map.” More curated events likely will take place, and the gift shop will shift focus with more fine art pieces and fewer craft items. Bandy also wants to encourage growth of a writer’s group now at the gallery to emphasize both arts and letters. She hopes to create a reading nook and have readings. “I intend to become the education coordinator and will teach a lot more of the classes,” said Brooke, who originally planned to leave the director role at 75. Brooke led the effort that put the organization into the former Jackson County Jail site on North Fifth Street in 2012 with a one-year lease of the city-owned property. The group has refurbished the building and added lofts that artists can rent in the upstairs. Art Presence was started in 2009 by Brooke as a way to offer art ambles in conjunction with town merchants. The city in 2017 gave the group a three-year lease that allows for long-range planning of exhibitions and the time artists need to prepare for them. The three-year lease terms continue. The center currently has 31 member artists, admitted into the group after a jury panel judges their work to ensure they are of professional caliber, said Brooke. A jury panel composed of artists recently took over the evaluations, previously performed by board members, some of whom weren’t artists. Members pay dues and contribute five hours of work each month, often as docents in the galley where they can explain their work and that of others to visitors. They also oversee a gift shop. Over the years, the organization has upgraded the building, replacing burlap-covered walls with sheet rock, putting in new flooring and rehabilitating the second-floor space. That has resulted in the creation of a classroom and five artist lofts. Water has been run to the floor, an essential for watercolorists. “For artists who don’t have space at home, we keep the fees low. The have internet and water and can use it any time, night or day. It has been very successful,” said Brooke. Grants covered some of the work. The organization applied for six grants and received five during Brooke’s tenure, but she expects more will be sought as the group seeks to raise its profile. The new gray paint with black trim exterior was copied by city officials when they repainted other city buildings adjacent to the 1883 New City Hall, the former Jackson County Courthouse, which has a brick exterior. “Not only did we paint; we have a new logo and new fonts and new business cards. I figured after 10 years we need to make those changes,” said Brooke. Most exhibitions run for two months. In December, the galley will present its fifth annual Angel Show, a well attended event that draws submissions from all over Southern Oregon and some from as far as Southern California, said Brooke. “We want experimental things and cutting-edge things. Those are really important,” said Brooke. The gallery also needs to do more with social media and work at getting donors and sponsors, she said. Current gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. When the adjacent Jacksonville farmers market ends in mid-October, Sunday hours will shift to noon to 5 p.m. Information can be found at art-presence.org . Reach Ashland freelance writer Tony Boom at [email protected].