Today is Thursday so I went to meet artist friends for breakfast as I have been doing most Thursday mornings since 1995 or 1996. Amazing the thing has lasted so long.....
Babrara Pence was a banker who also served with me on the Board of the Louisvile Visual Art Association. One day years ago she announced she was leaving banking to pursue her art in a more serious manner. she asked me to set up some lunches so she could meet with other local artists. I told her that no working artist I knew would break up a studio day to met with another artist - a potential client , a gallery director most definitely. I explained that I often met artist friends for breakfast and she thought that sounded like a fine idea. We agreed to each invite another artitst and meet at 8:45 the following Thursday at Lynn's Paradise Cafe. When that was successful the 4 artists agreed to each invite another artist and meet again the following Thursday. The gathering of 8 all felt this was a very valuable and interesting concept to continue. We let it be known throughout the arts community that we were meeting and essentially put out the welcome mat for one and all.
All these years later some of the original 8 still meet along with others who joined the group in dribs and drabs (and some who made the attempt but failed to fit in). It has been a fascinating social experiement to observe simply because there are no rules but the public perception is that one still needs an invitation to have breakfast with us. Some "regulars" have left town leaving room for artists new to Louisvillle to join and become permanent fixtures. Our ages range from late 40s to 75 with most being 58-63.
Some are painters, some sculptors, some photographers, some work with mixed media (both 2D and 3D), some work with textiles in one form or another. All are successful studio artists who have had many solo exhibitions through the years and whose work is widely collected. We do not compete with eachother. We sometimes collaborate. But always, we encourage and share contact information for some exhibit or grant opportunity that might be of interest to one or to the group.
When I moved back here after nearly 20 years in suburban Philadelphia I never dreamed I would find such a suportive community of very talented artists in my sleepy ol' hometown. But sometime during that 20 year period and the following 2 decades sleepy ol' Louisville became a regonal magnet for creative people of all types, especially visual artists. This odd turn of events has certainly been my good fortune.
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