Carbondale Community Arts opens its new headquarters this weekend in Carbondale. The building, at 304 West Walnut, used to house Carbondale's public library. Now, it's an open space with plenty of natural light, and for leaders in the organization now - the opportunities are nearly endless.Lisa Janssen is the Artistic Director for CCA. She says this project is a long time coming.
"It's always been a dream of the organization to have a space for exhibits, workshops, programs."
For this weekend, the gallery features works from local artists who helped found Carbondale Community Arts - something Janssen says is important to honor the work of people who've built the organization into what it is today.
But there is also a nod to the present and the future, with a mosaic piece featuring dozens of tiny pieces of art, put together to showcase what the people in and around Carbondale are thinking and feeling.
"It's a grouping of small, six-inch by six-inch canvases that were created and embellished by artists in the
community, other artistically-minded members of the community, school children - so there's just a really wide variety of styles and materials that are used."
The mosaic features a Minion - something children will certainly recognize - but also a nod to one of the region's most famous people - the late Senator Paul Simon. Interspersed are paintings, drawings, art with unusual materials, and Janssen says it's a creative way to illustrate a community.
"It's filled with unique individuals, but together we're something bigger and better as a whole. So I would like people to look at it as a whole, and as individual pieces."
She says art brings people together - just like this one work does for the gallery on a special weekend.
"There are these individual pieces, but they're something entirely different as a whole."
This weekend's opening of 304 - as it's known - comes during a trying time for artists in southern Illinois. The end of September marked the closure of the Illinois Art and Artisans Center in Whittington - a victim of the state's budget crisis. Janssen says CCA's new facility can help fill the hole that is left with the Center's closure -- if even on a short term basis.
"We have an opportunity to serve the region even more, sort of filling that void - which hopefully won't be very long lasting."
Festivities in the coming days will celebrate the work of the past, and look ahead to the future - and Janssen hopes this new property can showcase some of the best and brightest artists and artworks for years to come, with plenty of opportunities in a wide range of disciplines.
"We'll have performances in this space, too, so it'll be not just art on the walls that you can look at, but things that you can experience with different senses. Also, we'll have films, and performance pieces, probably poetry and music, so it's really a home for all of the arts."
Janssen says she's excited about the future - particularly in fostering young artists who are just beginning their craft. She says the flexibility of this new space will really allow them to offer something unique to the region.
"We'll have some modular walls that we'll be able to cordon off spaces, but I think the openness of the floor plan lends itself to a multitude of uses. And I think that's certainly the intention."
A ribbon cutting took place on Friday, and the grand opening is Saturday in Carbondale. Festivities get underway at 6:30, with events throughout the evening.
