“I thought the display space was a perfect spot to showcase art, as it is on such a busy, vibrant, historic street with both neighbors and visitors to the area walking by on a daily basis,” said Dr. Sarah Jerome about the new art gallery in the windows of her Look+See eye clinic, 225 Main St. SE.
Jerome opened Look+See in 2004 at Central and Hennepin, the current home of Rusty Taco, before relocating to her current location on Main Street in 2011. They began expanding their office in 2015 and completed their renovations in July of this year.
“Last autumn when Look+See was doing its big renovation and overtaking the Ollu Dog Wash space, I noticed how much street level window space they had in a high traffic area,” said local novelist Sarah Stonich, “I wondered if there might not be a way to partner with them to showcase the art of their new neighbors at the A-Mill.”
Stonich lives in the next door A-Mill Artist Lofts, 315 SE Main St., where she writes novels set in Minnesota. Some already published are “Vacationland” and “Fishing with RayAnne,” which is written under the pen name Ava Finch. She is also a member of BridgeArts, a new organization consisting of an expanding group in A-Mill whose mission is to connect artists and community with resources and opportunities, partnering with businesses and organizations to ramp up their visibility and promote their art.
“Sarah approached me about collaborating in some way to increase awareness of the neighborhood’s strong ties to the arts community,” said Dr. Jerome, “we attract patients from all over the metro area, many of whom are unfamiliar with the neighborhood and all it has to offer, especially as it relates to the arts. Sarah saw this as a way to attract attention to the artists of A-Mill, and I thought it was a brilliant idea. Sarah and I met, and after seeing the various works on display in the A-Mill, I knew we had the opportunity to do something really unique and special.”
So the posters of eyewear collections came down and the art from A-Mill went up, as the Look + See Art Gallery opened Wednesday, Aug. 24 in the evening. “Artists will show for approximately six weeks, hopefully with no gaps between,” said Stonich. “This first opening was a big success with glass artist Phil Daniel, who will also help curate future exhibits. The weather might be a factor in whether each exhibit will have an outdoor opening.”
Daniel has lived in A-Mill for almost a year, “I am a stained glass artist, I work with light and the way it passes through glass. It is very changeable and exciting.” Daniel served wine and treats for the approximately 60 people who stopped by for the opening of the Look+See Art Gallery. There was even an international visitor at the gallery opening, Daniel’s father John, from England.
“I love the idea of going tiny,” said Stonich, “I believe Look + See Art is the smallest gallery in the city, though I’m told one even smaller exists in a men’s room somewhere in Minneapolis, so I guess we can brag that ours is ‘gender accessible’ to all.”