Artist Loft Gallery Closed
We announce, with regret, the closing of The Artist Loft Gallery (the bay area’s only artist co-op) after 19 years of operation in North Bend and Coos Bay.
We have lost our location at 367 Anderson Ave. because of condemnation by the city due in part to damage caused by a second floor tenant. We have looked for a new location but all the rents, so far, have been beyond the reach of a co-op gallery.
We exist to serve our Member artists by retaining only 25% of their sales in support of the gallery. These Members pay monthly dues and operate the gallery. (When we have sufficient space we also have some Exhibitor artists whose work we display at the usual gallery commission of a 50/50 split.) This all means we need a large space to display artwork, some quite large, for a business that does not retain the bulk of its income!
The Gallery opened in 2004 on the 2nd floor of Pony Village Mall, thus the name, The Artist Loft, later occupying two different locations on the ground floor. In 2016 we sought a Coos Bay location and were pleased to open on Anderson, just two doors West of the Coos Art Museum!
We had found a rent we could afford with an arrangement where we sold our landlord’s used furniture in the back half of the space and displayed our art in the front half. Gradually, as the furniture sold our art moved throughout the space, augmented by just enough remaining furniture that we had a large and truly wonderful gallery. We now have a group of artists wondering if some special situation of similar kind might exist in some currently empty space!
In closing we want to thank all those who supported us with their interest and purchases throughout the years, and especially the many fine area artists who have been members, exhibitors, entered our contests, or displayed your work as a guest artist who so enriched The Artist Loft Gallery!
Thank you all,
Carol Hanlin
Current Board President