I went this evening to the wonderful show at Space Gallery to take the nice long look that I didn't get at the gallery crawl, only to find that they now close at 6pm most weekdays. I guess I should have checked. The artist/curator, Thad Kellstadt and all the artists involved put a lot into this elaborate, personal, trippy extravaganza which Kurt Shaw rightly called one of the best shows in the two and a half year history of Space Gallery.
The show includes Jacob Ciocci of Paper Rad; The North Carolina collective: Team Lump; Brooklyn artist Maya Hayuk; and amazing works by Pittsburgh artists like Thad himself, Jenn Cooney, Matt Barton, Ladyboy and Jae Ruberto.
But this rant isn't really about that show. It's about the fact that people don't seem to care. Thad said they had to cut the hours back because not many people come in. To my knowledge, the mysterious- Cultural Trust which controls most of the exhibits downtown never told people they planned to cut the gallery hours. Did they ever ask if volunteers would help sit those spaces to keep them open or try to raise money from the businesses and property developers who should have an interest in breathing life into the downtown or try to raise money from people who love art?
This sadly relates to all the other small things that people have never bothered to do here like listing in the regional gallery guide or having a local one; creating an online cultural map and guide to the whole city. Providing low cost or free links and a guide on the city's convention website. Putting together some type of meager indoor art fair to showcase regional galleries or perhaps having a city wide art blog.
Most of these things would not take a lot of effort and might find willing sponsors.
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