Artsy Fartsy: Carson City's hometown gallery for Northern Nevada Artists
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Tue, 10/09/2018 - 12:50pm
Jeffery Pace might be a business owner, but his boss, he says, is the community, and he loves working as its employee.
Carson City’s own Artsy Fartsy Art Gallery is a story of the age old American Dream. Pace built his business from scratch with two passions in mind: art and community.
Artsy Fartsy opened over seven years ago in the small gallery that now hosts Artsy Farty’s most recent extension, Bluu Art Gallery, operated by Gabriel Aguayo, which opened just two months ago.
Pace was always an artist. He spent his childhood turning to art as an outlet, drawing and coloring whenever he could. He didn’t dream of running his own gallery one day, but after working in galleries in Reno, he realized exactly what he wanted to do, and how he wanted to do it. So, he set his sights on Carson City and began to build his new dream.
“I needed this community. While Carson may have needed me and my art gallery, I needed it a lot more. And it has done nothing but support and take care of us,” said Pace.
During his time in Reno, he learned lessons about how to run a gallery, and how not to run a gallery, which led him to own and operate one of the most popular galleries in Carson City.
His main value is to provide fair, consistent representation for Northern Nevada artists dealing in only original artwork.
“We opened up June 1, 2011, with thirteen artists, my big mouth, a big dream, and the help of our amazing community,” said Pace
With the rising trend of shopping local, Artsy Fartsy is about as local as you can get. It’s owned and operated by Northern Nevadans, its work comes entirely from local Northern Nevadan artists, who then put money back into our own community through non profit donations and fundraisers.
They just recently crossed the line of raising $190,000 for non profits within Northern Nevada, which is important to Pace, as he believes if your community takes care of you, you should take care of your community.
“Not everyone in Carson has the same political views or religious views or what have you, but the thing is, we all have a tendency to respect each other as long as you are honest about who you are and what you do."
Artsy Fartsy has partnered with many fundraising events around town, whether it be the Wine Walk, The Greenhouse Project, SPCA spay and neuter fundraisers, and more. He considers the community to be his boss, and so far, he’s loved every moment working for it.
“It wouldn’t do me a darn bit of good being passionate about the arts without having a community that supports us, without artists that allow me to be their voice; I’d be sitting here spending money day in day out, but it wouldn’t resonate with anyone else, and that’s simply not the case. We are so fortunate to be here.”
The Bluu Gallery just a few steps away is Artsy Farty’s original home, and now hosts art both domestic and foreign. There are pieces from Paris, New York, Australia, and many more.
It opened just two months ago, and while the space is small, it feels incredibly open and allows space for each piece of art work, from paintings to ceramics to wall hanging crafts.
Artsy Fartsy is located at 405 North Nevada Street. They are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 am - 5:00 pm.
For more information, you can call Jeffery Pace at 775-885-ARTS (2787), visit their website here, or their facebook here.
The Bluu Art Gallery is located at 220 A West Telegraph Street. They are open from 10 am - 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call Gabriel at 775-461-3510.
You can visit their website here or their facebook here.
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