The past year’s effect on art galleries and artists

By Alyssa Sanchez ‘23

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“It is sad. There are many galleries that I know that are really good and they are privately run and privately owned and they have closed down. A lot of them have. The pandemic really has severely hurt physical galleries,” says Jenny Wright Champlin, a local artist whose work is currently displayed at Sequoia Gallery and Studios.

Art galleries across Oregon have been struggling with social distancing, lockdowns, and restrictions for capacity in stores.

Linda Allen, Board President of Valley Art Gallery, says how galleries are “a good way to see the vision of artists who live in this area, who are inspired by the nature of Oregon, who are inspired by the things that are important to them that they express visually instead of verbally.”

Allen voiced how Valley Art Gallery does their best to promote local artists across Oregon through social media, a newsletter, and their website. Allen believes this enables artists to focus on creating art instead of worrying about promoting themselves.

The work of galleries is to help publicize artists’ work, so that the artists themselves can focus on producing and cultivating their art.

The pandemic completely closed art galleries in the beginning for at least three months. After the initial shutdowns, Valley Art Gallery was allowed to open at half capacity.

Business was slow in the beginning, but through social media, advertisement, and a wonderful mailing list, Valley Art Gallery was able to attract prospective customers.

The uptick in gallery interest for Valley Art Gallery led to sales normal to those during Christmas in past years. As of now, the business for Valley Art Gallery has been slow, but Allen expects more customers as restrictions continue to be lifted and more vaccinations are distributed.

Sequoia Gallery and Studios is a non-profit organization founded by the Hillsboro city government to increase revenue and residents of downtown Hillsboro. As the gallery is a nonprofit organization, it was able to receive a grant from the city to remain open.

The grant allowed Sequoia Gallery and Studios to remain open despite low business and continue to provide non-profit services such as classes, cheaper studio rental for artists, and Airbnb experiences.

Sequoia Gallery and Studios has struggled from a minimal online presence on both its website and social media, says Champlin.

For a gallery today to be successful, it needs a good mailing list and online presence, says Champlin. She also praises Valley Art Gallery for achieving this well.

Champlin rents a studio and produces clay art. She has been at the studio for many years and the price for her studio is significantly less because of the gallery’s non-profit status. She enjoys teaching art.

Sequoia Gallery and Studios and Valley Art Gallery will continue to promote the work of local artists and offer classes to customers and experiences to the public.