Gallery 5 prepares to open

LEWISTON – The fresh paint and bare walls of 22 Lisbon St. will soon be filled with art.

About 100 works – jury-selected pieces from the Artists Supporting MPBN Art Show – are scheduled to be the debut art at the first downtown gallery in years.

Operated by L/A Arts, it’s called “Gallery 5.”

The name is a nod to the five senses, said Andrew Harris, L/A Arts’ executive director. Eventually, the 850-square-foot space aims to be a platform for paintings and a variety of other media, perhaps including sculpture or poetry.

“It adds to the city,” Harris said. “It makes art accessible.”

L/A Arts has been pondering the creation of a gallery for years, since long before Harris’ arrival in 2005.

“It was in the pipeline in the past,” he said. It was made possible by help from Eric and Carrie Agren, who have renovated the former Lyseum Hall. Most of the building was remade into “Fuel,” a restaurant the couple opened this month.

However, a small storefront was left over. So the Agrens decided to open the space to L/A Arts, free of charge.

“Rather than worry about a light bill, we can work to get art in here,” Harris said.

On Tuesday, there were few hints that a gallery was on its way.

The renovated storefront looked sharp, accented with stained wood and a new door. But inside, the space was empty with the exception of a pair of wooden benches. Part of one wall sported exposed brick while two uninstalled light fixtures sat on the floor.

“We’re going to look like a gallery next Wednesday,” promised Tammie Grieshaber, who has volunteered to work as curator for a year.

Some details may still be unfinished when the opening ribbon is cut at noon on March 28, she said.

The gallery’s plan is to hold six juried shows each year, with underwriters covering the cost of promoting each show.

Grieshaber said she plans to ensure that the works are shown to people who might become customers of original art. As part of each show, she hopes to have the artists – whether they are painters, sculptors or poets – present to talk about their work and, if possible, sell it too.

To Harris, the gallery’s aim is even broader.

With Barnie’s Coffee and Tea Company in the Bates Mill and Gritty McDuff’s Brewery and Pub in Auburn, L/A Arts has worked to create space for local artists to display their work.

Paintings and photographs have filled an inside wall of the coffee shop and an outside wall at the brew pub, displaying the art to anyone paused at the stoplight at Main and Court streets in Auburn.

“It’s taking the mystique out of art,” he said. It’s the first step to getting people to embrace it, he said.

Now, the aim is to get people out of their cars in Lewiston’s downtown. Of all the high-profile development at the other end of lower Lisbon Street – including the bank, the baker, the school and the telecommunication company – there has been little aimed at getting regular folks out of their cars and into storefronts, Harris said.

“It should be a flag to drivers,” he said. “Come in here.”