Really? Has it Been That Long?
Most of our gallery visitors and friends know at least a little of our story as an art gallery. We opened 1+1=1 six years ago as a pop-up gallery, thinking we would keep it open for a month or two.
We had picked up a pebble and tossed it into the water …
We stayed on in our first space until the owner sold the building. By that time we had committed to 6 other artists, that we would have an exhibit of their work. So we looked around for another temporary space.
Watched the ripples spread outward just a bit …
We found a great space on the 400 Block, but it demanded so much effort, cash and time to make it workable, that we decided to take a big leap and become a long-term “real” fine art gallery.
Realized we weren’t going to conjure big tides in one fell swoop …
That first year in our current space, our mission as a gallery became clear to us, but it was a big undertaking for two working artists, as we put all of our savings into the gallery.
Tossed a few more pebbles …
- To create a stronger arts community in Helena.
- To support local and regional artists who wanted to grow their careers.
- To be such an inclusive art space that anyone – anyone – would feel welcome whether they were knowledgeable about art or not.
- To build a space where people could gather to appreciate art, find art to buy, and have a good time together.
All those pebbles are still making ever-widening ripples, lapping and overlapping with other ripples made by other arts organizations and local businesses.
And yes, a tide in Helena is lifting all of the arts and all of its citizens together. Thank you for being part of it!