Geneva Center for the Arts to close Stevens Street gallery

GENEVA – The Geneva Center for the Arts will close its gallery at 321 Stevens St. in Geneva in April, but continue its exhibitions in the Geneva Public Library lobby, officials announced in a news release.

The center officially opened in October 2021.

Geneva Center for the Arts Board of Directors President Doug Holzrichter said it just wasn’t financially possible to keep the gallery open at the Stevens Street location.

“When we opened the center – and it was probably a leap of faith – we had funding,” Holzrichter said. “I was on the Cultural Arts Commission in 2009 and had been involved in preparing a business plan for the arts center.”

The Geneva Cultural Arts Commission and the Geneva Foundation for the Arts signed a statement of cooperation in 2018 with the goal of supporting arts in the community and establishing a community arts center, city records show.

“The foundation will keep going. We’re just essentially closing the space,” Holzrichter said.

The center is 2,000 square feet, he said.

“It was perfect. And we had nice gallery space. And a secondary room as a classroom,” Holzrichter said.

Although they were able to raise $65,000 to $70,000 a year, Holzrichter said it would have required more to keep it operational. The rent is $2,400 a month. The center asked the city for support in January 2022 and again in November 2022, he said.

“We requested funding as part of their annual budget,” Holzrichter said. “As far as I know, St. Charles and Batavia give their arts organizations money. You need that kind of support. Basically, we said it would be nice if you could pay our rent.”

City officials have said, with regard to nonprofits seeking financial support, that it requires a policy that has not yet been presented.

Even if the city paid the center’s rent, that would not have been enough to stay open, Holzrichter said. The center lost its executive director in June because it couldn’t pay her. It stopped paying its curator, so she’s been working as a volunteer since July.

“I can’t fault the city at all. We took it upon ourselves with what we had at the time. We had some money in the bank, a good board. We felt like we could open it up and rally community support for the arts center,” Holzrichter said. “We probably overestimated support we get and underestimated what it would take to … really operate it.”

If the board took on the entire load to do everything that is necessary to run the center, they probably could stay open at that space, he said.

But that’s not realistic. A team of volunteers will stay on to keep the space open into April, he said.

Rita Grendze said she was hired to be in charge of curating the arts shows at the center, installing and taking down exhibits.

“Since July, I’ve been doing it as a volunteer,” Grendze said. “There’s not enough money for anyone to be salaried. … All our programs were really well-received, but we can’t operate on nothing. It’s sad.”

The center served local artists to have solo shows, help their careers and provide a way for artists to talk about their craft with the public, Grendze said.

“This was done out of love for the arts and a desire to create something for the community,” Grendze said. “It was not just a physical space but a platform for all creative arts in the area.”

Grendze said she views the continuing relationship with the Geneva Public Library as a shift and a chance to regroup.

Mayor Kevin Burns said he was saddened to learn about the Geneva Center for the Arts Gallery closing.

“I’m buoyed by the good news of their new partnership with the Geneva Public Library, which will afford the Geneva Center for the Arts opportunities to curate art exhibitions in the library’s space, as well as host art-related talks and programs,” Burns said.

Remaining events scheduled at the center:

• “Transparent, Translucent, Opaque,” featuring area artists Victoria Belz, glass; Alison Balcanoff, paper; and Jill Birschbach, ceramics, through March 19. The program is free and open to the public.

• Art History and Wine Tour: Greece, 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 23. Tickets are available at genevaartscenter.org.

• The SHOP at the Geneva Center for the Arts: Winter sale on its collection of affordable and functional artwork.

Gallery hours are noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.