This summer, a museum in Watertown is taking it to the streets. The Codington County Historical Society and Heritage Museum has big plans for local artists — an Art Alley Gallery.
But it isn’t like other art alleys where people spray paint on the building’s walls.
“We’re going to hang up art, so you can go back there," said museum executive director Christy Lickei. "It’s going to be like an art gallery and every year, we’ll change the theme and we’ll hang up new art.”
Lickei said the theme for the first year of this project is “imagine,” something she’s been doing for months. She said she not only wants to reimagine the space behind the historic building, but also the sense of community.
So Lickei is looking for local artists who want to create. From photographers, digital artists, collagers, painters, decoupagers— any artist who does 2D artwork.
She’s also looking for community members who might also want to contribute in a different way.
“If you come to the museum, I’ll give you a little bit of paint and a foam brush and then you can go in the alley and paint by number and then at the end of the summer, we’ll have two big community paintings," said Lickei. "And they’re all squares so nobody will know what the painting is until the end of the summer. Well, I know, but they won’t. Nobody else will know.”
Lickei said there’s been a learning curve in trying to figure out how to deal with visual art in a public outdoor space that has to weather — well, the weather. But she’s got a plan.
“We’ve gotten plywood boards, so if you have a great idea and you want to participate, stop by the museum and I’ll give you a board," Lickei said. "You can take it home and bring it back and then we’ll hang it in the gallery. If you don’t want to do a big one, I’ll give you a small one and we’ll just all get in on the fun this summer.”
She says they’ve already gotten enough responses from local artists to “open” the gallery on Memorial Day, but she’s leaving the submission window open until the gallery is full. She’ll take it all down on Labor Day and has tentative plans for a community celebration.
Artists interested in submitting work for the space can contact the Codington County Historical Society and Heritage Museum.