Lia Rothstein, who has created a beautiful exhibition space in White River Junction and produced very impressive photography exhibits, is seeking people interested in collaborating on a cooperative gallery and teaching effort that would be a successor effort to the space she has developed. She sent us the following.– Ed.
I am writing to you as I contemplate the future of PHOTOSTOP. As you know, for over two and a half years we've been showcasing fine art photography exhibits, sponsoring community events, and running photography/imaging classes and professional level workshops. I have greatly enjoyed running the gallery, curating and hanging the shows, and coordinating the programming. For a variety of personal and professional reasons, I am contemplating transitioning from running PHOTOSTOP in its present form. My current lease is up for renewal this June 2012.
Since I extensively renovated the gallery space with professional lighting, fresh paint, a gallery hanging system, etc. when I took the studio over, I am considering a number of options for the future. Building owner Matt Bucy has expressed interest in keeping a gallery or art-related enterprise in the space. We have worked so hard to establish the gallery's reputation and attract interested audiences that I would, ideally, prefer that a group of artists take over the space (beginning this June, possibly sooner) and run it as a cooperative exhibition and teaching space. This could be either all photographers or a mix of artists from various mediums (with the necessary name change that would entail). Two Rivers Printmaking, with which many of you are familiar, has a committed group of artists who share the rent, run classes, use the space, and exhibit there regularly. A friend and fellow photographer, Keith Johnson, who exhibited at PHOTOSTOP last year, is part of a very similar cooperative gallery based in New Haven, CT. A newly revitalized PHOTOSTOP could be run on a similar model if there was a committed group of people to make it happen.
I'm exploring whether there are people who would be interested in coming together to work on a cooperative gallery of some kind or who would have other similar ideas for the space. I would be happy to work with other artists in a shared venture of some kind but I don't feel, at this time, that I am going to keep PHOTOSTOP running on my own in its present form. I invite any interested parties to contact me by Feb. 22. If there's sufficient interest I'll organize a meeting to discuss options for the future. Please contact me at photostopvt@gmail.com if you might be interested in sharing the rent of the space and in making both a financial and cooperative commitment of time to a shared venture.
If a sizable enough group does not come forward, I will be investigating other possibilities, including selling PHOTOSTOP'S current business to interested parties. I encourage anyone interested in exploring this possibility to contact me as well.Our already scheduled exhibits and classes will run through May as planned.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas.
-Lia Rothstein
Images from the PHOTOSTOP website
