The History of The Downtown Artists Co-op The Downtown Artists Co-op is an association of talented local artists and interested patrons dedicated to promoting the visual arts in the Clarksville/ Montgomery County area. DAC was founded in 2001 by a small group of local artists who had a vision of an art gallery in historic downtown Clarksville. Since then, it has grown to include 27 Full Artist Members, 16 Consignment Artists and over 50 Patrons. DAC's first gallery space was located on the 2nd floor of 103 Franklin Street, above The Front Page Deli. The Gallery's first exhibit opened in July of 2002. In February of 2004, DAC moved its current location of 96 Franklin Street. In addition to exhibiting work of its member artists, DAC hosts several events: Pleinair : Art in the Streets , the first event sponsored by DAC, was conceived of as a street festival of work for display & sale by local artists, demonstrations by artists, and music performances on Franklin St. between 1st & 2nd . Pleinair took place in April 2002-2004. There are plans for reviving Pleinair as an event sponsored by the Downtown Clarksville Association, to take place annually in conjunction with the Roxy Gala and rename it "Frolic on Franklin". Holiday Arts & Crafts Bazaar is an annual sale of DAC artists' works which takes place on the first Saturday of December. December 6, 2006 will mark the 6th Annual Bazaar. Both full & consignment artists are invited to reserve a table and wall space to display their work, which remains on display through December 31st . US Bank Open Exhibit is an exhibition open to all Montgomery and surrounding county artists and is DAC's major Community Outreach annual event. DAC provides gallery space and volunteers to assist in organizing the event. Awards are presented for artworks that are selected as exceptional by a juror in both Amateur and Professional Divisions. This exhibit usually displays the work of over 75 local artists. Annual DAC Membership Exhibit opens the exhibition calendar each September offering full artist members the opportunity to exhibit new work. First Thursday Art Walk is a monthly event sponsored by DCA and AHDC which encourages the public to visit downtown to shop, dine, view art, see a play. DAC hosts special events on these evenings which are free and open to the public. Gallery Talks are informal gatherings of artists, patrons and the public. Each artist, or groups of artists, who exhibit their work at DAC are invited to host a Gallery Talk during the run of their show to discuss and answer questions about their work. Other Events/ Exhibitions |
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