Our History
Unforgettable Beginnings and Remarkable People
A Pictoral Timeline of the North Pole Grange Gallery and Studios
By John Porrier
The Beginnings of the Gallery 2006
It began with an afternoon watercolor workshop presented by Tom Nixon at Ben Franklin’s early in 2006. Maybe a dozen people attended, including me. We asked if Ben Franklin would be doing these workshops on a regular basis, but that wasn’t in the cards. We chose the Grange Hall as a place for the group to meet on the following Wednesday evening to figure out how to keep the activity alive. That quickly became a series of Wednesday get togethers for watercolor enthusiasts who called themselves “Watercolor Wednesday.”
We recognized our need for help with the complexities of the medium and arranged to have experienced artists attend the weekly meetings.
By the end of 2006, Watercolor Wednesday had grown to around 20 people, and more than half were attending regularly.
At the first meeting in November, Vladimir Zhikhartsev was the guest artist. He looked around the building and commented that it would be a good venue for displaying art. He offered to conduct a solo show and assisted us with putting the whole thing together.
We have been conducting monthly shows since then.
First Art Show
The show was a huge success and remains as the highest revenue generating show in our 15 years of operation.
Pictured on the right are:
Vladimir Zhikhartsev, John Poirrier, Sandra Giddings, and Tammy Philips who were the people who started the “Grange Gallery”.
First Piece of Art
by artist Vladimir Zhikhartsev
This image is one of thirty watercolor paintings that filled the gallery.
This marked the beginning of the Grange Gallery.
Third Fridays Began in 2001
We established ourselves as a corporate entity in February of 2021. That’s relative recent, but we have a long history of art events in North Pole. We have always been a non-profit gallery, but now we are now recognized by the IRS.
We were the most popular venue for First Fridays after we started up in 2007. But, as other First Friday events became more popular in Fairbanks, the core group wanted to spend more time at the other First Friday shows. So, in 2011 we switched to Third Fridays and that worked well until the December Third Friday show bumped into the Christmas holidays. So, we moved our Christmas show to November and stopped doing December show.
A Historic Building
We have a building with historic significance in the local area.
That is the only good thing about having a community building without a maintenance budget!
The exterior of the building has been unchanged for over 50 years.
Preserving the building and its history is one of our priorities.
A Classic Example
This is a classic example of what the Gallery tries to accomplish.
Morris was a geography teacher who painted to help himself better understand his subject matter. He never considered himself an artist. At this show, we filled both levels of the gallery with his paintings and, by popular demand extended the show throughout the weekend and for the following week.
Occassional Redefining
Sometimes we redefined our principles:
“Local Artists”
“One Night Only”
But we did it for good reasons
We were one of three CULTURAL VENUES FOR THE 2014 ARCTIC WINTER GAMES
The artists were “local” to the circumpolar region of the planet.
Youth Events
Youth shows are popular, and the real excitement comes from the kids who show their work in a public setting.
Fundraisers
We often host fundraisers.
Artists are typically activists for special causes and are willing to participate in fundraising events.
Live Music!
Art shows with live music can’t be beat.
Awards
The Fairbanks Library Foundation appreciated our fundraiser “Brushes to Books”.
The Fairbanks Arts Association recognized us with their “Arts Advocacy Award”
Workshops
We are setting up a regular schedule for different workshops.
Some Favorite Images
This picture may seem out of place, but It has two of my favorite images: A cool graphic poster and a swimming polar bear by Betsy Bear. Betsy Bear was an established North Pole artist before the Gallery started and has been heavily involved with our activities.