Art gallery to reopen in new location inside Nolan Center

Creative thinking has led to a new home for the Wrangell Art Gallery.

This Saturday, during the community market, the gallery and its members will hold a grand opening at its new location inside the Nolan Center next to the administrative office.

Earlier this year, the gallery lost its lease in a building on Front Street, where it had resided for many years as a gallery and social workspace. The members closed the storefront, put items in storage and continued to meet at founding member Olga Norris' home.

Michael Bania, a member of the gallery's resident artists, also volunteers at the Nolan Center. She had relayed the problem to center director Cyni Crary.

"When she was telling me about the lease being up at the old place, I thought, 'You know what, we could probably do a little bit of rearranging here and make this a win-win for both of us,' Crary recalled about her conversation with Bania.

Bania said the gallery's membership discussed renting a place somewhere in town that would also be easily accessible to cruise ship traffic, "but rents are so expensive."

The gallery won't be charged rent on its space, but it will pay 20% of its sales to the Nolan Center, which Bania said was "very generous."

The space once housed the center's small theater that played a movie about the town's history. It featured a dropdown screen and old theater seating. That feature has been moved into the administrative office, with the movie playing on a TV.

Though the social workspace aspect has been removed from the new location due to space, many member creations are on display and for sale. Paintings, books, quilts, prints and more adorn the walls and display racks, which were donated by the Nolan Center since most were going to be sold as surplus.

The hours of the gallery will vary as they did before, being open mainly during the days that larger cruise ships are in port. Bania said they will rely on members donating some of their time to helm the gallery, which can now take credit cards as a form of payment. Members pay $20 a month, which allows the gallery to pay for a Square point-of-sale device.

Members are excited to have a new space to call home and look forward to offering something to Wrangell residents and visitors that is unique to the community.

"One of the things in our old shop is that (customers) appreciated that the community is small. It's not run by cruise ships," Bania said. "That's huge. They just like to visit. They not only get a taste of what we produce here, but they get the whole history."

Crary is optimistic about the addition of the gallery since everything found there will be unique and won't compete with the Nolan Center's existing gift shop.

"I think it's an excellent addition," she said. "I think it's going to attract more people. It lends to more people coming to the museum, more people coming to the art gallery, it just lends to the entire experience. It's unique, local artists."