FLCC and Ontario County Arts Council team up to expand arts programming

The Ontario County Arts Council opened Gallery 32 in downtown Canandaigua and will share workshop and event space with FLCC's ArtSpace36.

Finger Lakes Community College and the Ontario County Arts Council have formed a community arts partnership to offer additional gallery space and arts events in downtown Canandaigua.

Under the agreement signed in January, the college and the arts council will maintain their own spaces at 36 and 32 S. Main St., respectively. They will share resources and host joint events, starting on Feb. 22 during the downtown Canandaigua Fire and Ice Festival.

“A key element of the college’s strategic plan is to invest in students’ futures by leveraging our partnerships,” said FLCC President Robert Nye. “This community arts partnership will help our students network with local arts organizations and professionals.”

FLCC opened ArtSpace36 in 2019 and holds art exhibits, receptions, readings and other events at the site at 36 S. Main St. ArtSpace36 is next door to the storefront that housed art classes shortly after the founding of FLCC in the late 1960s and before it had its own campus. ArtSpace36 also hosts the Create + Connect community art nights for ages 7 and up and Letters and Lattes events for youth ages 15 to 22.

Diane Olivet, a member of the Ontario County Arts Council Board of Directors, begins to arrange artwork in the new Gallery 32, next door to FLCC’s ArtSpace36 in downtown Canandaigua. The arts council has opened Gallery 32 with plans to provide space to local artists looking to develop an audience for their work. It will also sponsor FLCC students’ membership in the organization. The council has promoted the arts for 35 years and currently provides a scholarship to a second-year FLCC student studying the visual or performing arts.

This community arts partnership will expand on the council’s current exhibit space and event offerings at the Ontario County History Society Museum at 55 N. Main St., Canandaigua.

ArtsSpace36 and Gallery 32 share an interior doorway, which will encourage visitors to enjoy both spaces. Both organizations will share workshop space currently established at ArtSpace36.

“The Ontario County Arts Council is delighted to have a downtown presence,” said Joyce Kowba, president of the organization. “We look forward to collaborative events that will increase opportunities for residents to experience the arts. Our artists will have an additional space to exhibit and to develop mentoring relationships with students.”

During the Fire and Ice Festival on Feb. 22, arts council members will set up workspaces from noon to 5 p.m. allowing visitors to see the new space, observe their work and ask questions about the creative process. Visitors can also learn more about membership and the work of the arts council.

Also on Feb. 22, the college will have materials available for adults and children to make artist trading cards between noon and 5 p.m. FLCC’s gallery currently features work by Professor Liz Brownell, who co-founded ArtSpace36 with colleague Lacey McKinney. Brownell’s mixed media show explores themes of adoption and reunion.

“This partnership is an opportunity to strengthen the fiber of our arts community,” Brownell said. “We will be able to expand our offerings and connect students more directly with established community-based artists. It will also allow for those in our community and those visiting to be exposed to more of the diverse and extraordinary art of the Finger Lakes!”

Learn more

• Art events will be posted at events.flcc.edu and ocacgallery32.org. Workshops are posted on ArtSpace36.com.
• Artists seeking details on exhibit space at Gallery 32 can email admin@ocacgallery32.org.
• ArtSpace36 and Gallery 32 are open noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

EVENTS LISTING

FEBRUARY

Wednesday, Feb. 12: Create + Connect community art projects for ages 7 and up, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 13: Letters & Lattes creative projects for ages 15 to 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 19: Create + Connect community art projects, 6:30 to 8 p.m. via Zoom, get link at events.flcc.edu

Thursday, Feb. 20: Tiny Works of Wonder, community invited to create art to donate for a fundraiser in memory of students who have passed, 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 22: Gallery 32 opening, art activities, during Fire and Ice Festival, noon to 5 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 26: Create + Connect community art projects for ages 7 and up, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 27:  Letters & Lattes creative projects for ages 15 to 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

MARCH

Wednesday, March 5: Gallery talk for adoptees related to the “My Whole Life is Two Different Stories” exhibit, 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Thursday, March 6: Letters & Lattes creative projects for ages 15 to 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 12: Create + Connect community art projects for ages 7 and up, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, March 13: Letters & Lattes creative projects for ages 15 to 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 19: Create + Connect community art projects, 6:30 to 8 p.m. via Zoom, get link at events.flcc.edu

Thursday, March 20: Letters & Lattes creative projects for ages 15 to 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 26: Create + Connect community art projects for ages 7 and up, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, March 27: Ontario County Chamber of Commerce mixer, 5 to 7 p.m.

APRIL

Thursday, April 3: Letters & Lattes creative projects for ages 15 to 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Friday, April 4: Closing talk and reception for “My Whole Life is Two Different Stories,” work by Liz Brownell, 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Wednesday, April 9: Create + Connect community art projects for ages 7 and up, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, April 10: Letters & Lattes creative projects for ages 15 to 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, April 16: Create + Connect community art projects, 6:30 to 8 p.m. via Zoom, get link at events.flcc.edu

Thursday, April 17: FLCC Student Portfolio Show opening reception, 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Thursday, April 17: Letters & Lattes creative projects for ages 15 to 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, April 23: Create + Connect community art projects for ages 7 and up, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Thursday, April 24: Letters & Lattes creative projects for ages 15 to 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m.