SHARON ARTS CENTER PROMOTES COMMUNITY- SUPPORTED ARTS

“When I heard about what they did,” says new Sharon Arts Center Executive Director Keri Wiederspahn, “I thought: what a brilliant idea!”

So when she was appointed last summer to head Sharon Arts, she proposed that this 65-year-old not-for-profit arts organization try it as well. Now, for $330 a share (which can be purchased at  $110 monthly for three months), New Hampshire art lovers can support artists and receive nine works of art over a several-month period–the first on Nov.18, followed by Dec. 15 and Jan. 19, 2012.

“The similarities of a farmer and artist are very real,” Wiederspahn says, “beginning with the dedication of their hands to the act of creation. Both local artists and farmers are dependent upon community support, and the long-term results of a project like this hold the potential for generating many wonderful relationships and educating the public on a specific set of local talent and artistry.”

She said the difficulty, however, lies in explaining to people how the whole CSArt idea works. “Sometimes people just can’t grasp the concept that they can actually receive nine pieces of art for only $330, or else they wonder how the artist can possibly be reimbursed properly. “But if you do the math and look at the whole picture you realize it’s a win-win situation for everybody,” she says. “It’s a chance for the artists to gain an enormous marketing and visibility potential and for the shareholders to broaden their artistic appreciation.”

And if shareholders receive works of art they don’t like–such as rutabagas, say, from an agricultural coop–they can exchange that piece of art with someone who does like–well, that rutabaga sort of art. A benefit of the nine pieces of art coming now is that they can also be given as holiday gifts, as well as birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries.

Many of the nine artists chosen to participate in Sharon Art Center’s first CSArt project–selected in a juried competition–are well known to the Monadnock region: Craig Stockwell, Soosen Dunholter, Colette Lucas, Tanya Prather, Fernando Martins, Jack Ahearn, Kate Lenahan, Lynn Latimer, and Jean Meinhardt. Their work represents a broad range of styles and mediums in the visual arts, from painting, drawing, and ceramics to photography and collage art.

Wiederspahn, who was interviewed recently about the CSArt project on NHPR’s “Word of Mouth,” says that shares can be purchased at any time prior to Dec. 2, just before the second festive “Pick-Up” evening at the Sharon Arts Gallery. “The essence of a project like this,” she adds, “is about building reciprocity and authentic relationships between artists and the larger community of the Monadnock region. We sincerely hope to open doors for a healthy creative dialogue that forges collaboration, support, and respect to yield a stronger arts ecology and future.”