Gallery 40 Brings Community Engagement through Art
By: Lily Caffrey-Levine
Gallery 40 at Poughkeepsie’s own 40 Cannon Street housing development is bringing a fresh new look to the typical lobby with their latest exhibition, “Urban Icons.”
The gallery opened in October 2018, in conjunction with the opening of the 40 Cannon housing development. The building, located in the city center of Poughkeepsie, is home to a brewery, wine cellar, and café, in addition to Gallery 40. The gallery’s first exhibition was “Synchronicity: 4 Artists/4 Perspectives,” and featured the work of Donna Mikkelsen, Lois Walsh, Valerie Sharp and Marisol Rodriguez.
All four artists have some relation to the area of Poughkeepsie, as are all of the artists whose work has been featured in the gallery. This comes at no coincidence. One of the goals of Gallery 40 is to engage the community. The importance of community engagement is a clearly a priority for Gallery 40.
Jean Hinkley, one of the directors and curators for Gallery 40 knew the emphasis on community engagement would be important. She explained, “When starting Gallery 40, I knew a mission statement would be a guide for the gallery and its trajectory in the community. The mission should be a guide to stick to throughout choices of exhibition topics, themes, and who the gallery would represents. Many of the other galleries in Poughkeepsie inspired this mission. Their missions are closely aligned to community.”
As well as featuring local artists, Gallery 40 also hosts events in the form of lectures and question-and-answer sessions with various artists of many different mediums. Once again, in an effort to engage the community, all of these events are open to the public, free of charge.
The importance of showcasing different mediums is clear to those involved. “Different artistic mediums are important because it brings in different audiences. I try to balance shows throughout the year to include photography, painting, mixed medium, etc. Artists from the area have a multitude of talents,” Hinkley said.
The current exhibition. titled “Urban Icons,” features artists Franc Palaia and Brian Gillette. Updating their community Facebook page with upcoming events, Gallery 40 gives people a sense of the latest exhibition, notifying patrons of the work the gallery is bringing in: “Urban Icons seeks to create ‘an otherworldly environment where visitors will be taken out of their normal atmosphere and enter an entirely new world,’ as described by Palaia. Gillette hopes that viewers will leave with ‘a little more appreciation of the beauty in urban decomposition.’”
Running from Nov. 9 to Dec. 31 “Urban Icons” has been receipted into the community very positively. Hinkley explained that, “a little over 100 people attended the opening on November 9th. Gallery 40 sold three pieces that evening.”
“I think this show is a big success because it embodies our mission — local artists and community. The two artists’ work complement one another nicely and I think the materials of the art work really well against the brick of the gallery,” she continued.
Moreover, Galley 40’s next exhibition will focus in on their own home front. “The next show, which will start in 2020, is about Poughkeepsie. I put a call out to artists with the prompt ‘What does Poughkeepsie mean to you?’ I am looking forward to seeing what the artists want to showcase,” said Hinkley.
With successful exhibits such as “Urban Icons,” as well as the various events held at Gallery 40, they are building a welcoming artistic space for those in the community. “Urban Icons” will be on display until December 31.
