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THE PLYMOUTH
GUILD, INC. for the arts |
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Life: A beautiful union By Rich Harbert MPG Newspapers The local art community celebrates a much-anticipated marriage this weekend. The union of the Plymouth Guild for the Arts and the Plymouth Community Art Center begins Sunday at 1 p.m. in a 1,500-square-foot studio in the heart of Cordage Park. After years of working separately toward the artistic development of Plymouth, the two art groups have decided to collaborate. From three classrooms they will call the Plymouth Art Gallery, they will offer a welcoming home for aspiring artists young and old. The Guild needs no introduction to artists. Started in the mid-1970s, the Guild annually hosts the local art community's signature event - the juried art show. What they did need was a home. Since losing their space in the Cranberry World building six years ago, the Guild has relied on the kindness of the Plymouth Public Library for their September galas. The lack of a home has severely restricted the group's teaching programs in recent years as well. The PCAC has the newer name, but an established base. Started as the Yellow House Studio in the old Buttner's Building in 1998, the group went nonprofit in 2002 and changed its name and address. With Malissa Kenney at the helm, the PCAC has grown to more than 150 members - almost as many as the Guild. And their space in Suite 119 of the old Cordage factory offers three studios for classes. A handful of people who belong to both organizations first floated the idea of a collaboration last summer. Kenney, the PCAC's executive director, and Brenda Cobb, then president of the Guild, immediately recognized the benefits. By pooling resources, they might reduce overhead costs while consolidating services. The collaboration is especially appealing because it brings together two complimentary specialties under one roof. The PCAC has always offered programs for young and old, but Kenney freely admits her passion lies with teaching teens and children the wonders of art. The Guild, meanwhile, is the recognized authority on fine arts for the more mature student. "It seemed serendipitous to everyone," Cobb said. When the spring session opens April 11, Kenney will offer six classes for children and teens and several one-day workshops. She will also provide a half-dozen adult classes in handcrafts like sewing, knitting and crocheting. The Guild will run seven fine arts classes, including life drawing and pastel sessions. The Guild will also hold one three-day workshop. Guild president Andrew Kusmin sees the merger as a rebirth for his group - and maybe even the birth of something much greater. "For the Guild it's like stating at the bottom again, we've lost so much by not having a space to call home that people have drifted away," Kusmin said. More importantly, he said, the collaboration could work as a jumping off point for what may eventually become a much more comprehensive arts center in Plymouth. The two groups still wish to retain their individual identities for now, but leaders in each expressed hope that the union will encourage others to join forces too and create a local cultural arts center that embraces theatrical, musical and culinary arts as well. Kusmin said there are several art groups in town that would make excellent partners. "We think it's time that Plymouth has an arts center. Hopefully this is the seed that will start us in that direction," Kusmin said. The Guild and the PCAC hope to encourage the public participation by opening the studios to artists one morning a week. Kusmin envisions a coffee house-like atmosphere, where artists can come together to talk and work. "If people want to paint, they paint. If they want to sculpt, they can sculpt. If they just want to talk, they can talk," he said. The two groups will mark their collaboration with the grand opening of their gallery on Sunday afternoon from 1 to 5 p.m. The Plymouth Art Gallery be open year-round and will largely showcase the original art of Guild members, but young artists will have an entire wall to display their talents too. The offerings will be rotated monthly to encourage visitors on a regular basis. The art will also be available for sale. "We're hoping to make this the place to go for your gift buying," Cobb said. Marsha Hanby, a local elementary school art teacher and member of the Plymouth Cultural Council as well as the Guild, sees the collaboration as an important first step toward a greater goal. "The only way that anything like that will come to fruition is if groups start supporting one another like this. Instead of competing they should find their niche, share their mailing lists and help out at each other's events. Otherwise everyone is only working toward their own end," Hanby said. "This is a wonderful collaboration of these two groups. Now, hopefully if all goes well, we'll get larger."
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