The errSpace Gallery creates a very unique home
Seven years ago, the Mise En Scenesters film club started doing pop-up movie screenings here in Chattanooga. At that time, the organizers noticed that the bulk of the club’s supporters were from the art and music communities here in town. They have since been avid supporters of the local arts.
Over the next three years, MES grew into a top-notch film society, becoming the basis for the Chattanooga Film Festival. Last year, the CFF made its home at the Cinerama, an expansive space on Main St. The building was so huge that it had space for a gallery to exist alongside the Arthouse Theater.
The Swine Gallery was born, and for a year it hosted some of the most interesting and memorable art shows in town. Under the direction of curator Aaron Cowan, the gallery was a dedicated academic space, where an artist could do just about anything. It was a project space, an installation space, a 1000 square foot room as a blank canvas.
“I really loved Aaron’s eye and the style of all the art he was bringing in and curating,” says CFF Director Chris Dortch. “He helped set the tone for the whole space and tied everything together. When we made the move to the Tomorrow Building, there was no reality in which Aaron and the gallery wouldn’t be coming with us.”
Located in the lobby of The Palace Picture House, The errSpace Gallery is a continuation of the Swine.
Their goal is to give people an opportunity to show their work and experiment with the space. “The idea behind renaming it errSpace is, this is a safe space to experiment with non-conventional ways of displaying art,” explains Aaron.
“We’ll make use of any available area, any nook, cranny, even the ceiling. So instead of always having paintings hanging on a wall, or sculptures on a pedestal, we invite people to play with the unique architecture of the space. To make mistakes, to fail, to learn, and to grow.”
Aaron’s philosophy of art is open and welcoming. “Not everybody starts out being great artists,” he says. “You have to experiment over and over again before you kind of figure out what works for you, what you enjoy, what you can practice. We want the space to be inclusive, where we can be approached by someone who has an idea, who wants to do a show here, for people to come, show their work, experiment, share ideas, and grow as an artist.”
The gallery has been booking mostly solo artists, but their first show was a group show with 20 artists showing a few pieces each. In August, they are hosting a sister exhibition to Wayne White’s Hunter Museum show, featuring the work of volunteers who worked with Wayne.
Though more will be added, the list of participating artists is Amy Royale, David Gabbard, Bryan Dyer, Brad Rader, Elliot Cowan, James Bruneau, Matt Dutton, Randy Fairchild, Jason Doan, Stephen Micheal Haas, and Mont Overton.
In October, the gallery will host a Horror Art show to accompany the MES’s Frightening Ass Film Festival, and will see the return of a local art tradition, Take Art/Leave Art. “Take Art/Leave Art is an awesome event that brings the community together, and expands the idea that anybody can be an artist, anybody can make something,” Aaron notes. “Maybe some people are more naturally inclined to create, but I believe that everybody possesses that ability. I want to share that with the community.”
He continues, “It is all about sharing opportunities. I know that Chattanooga likes to talk about how it is a supporter of the arts, but for a bit, it felt like the scene was contracting. For a while there, it was difficult to show.”
Boutique galleries are nice, but Chattanooga has a noticeable shortage of art spaces - galleries that don’t already have art on the walls all the time. This blank slate is what errSpace is offering. Aaron says, “It is nice when there is a dedicated place for people to show their work. We aren’t looking for a specific style, that would be boring - we want to show a variety of things. We are looking for exhibitors who have found their stride, their groove, their voice as an artist, confidence, and make work that people can talk about.”
errSpace is currently showing the work of Alecia Vera Buckles, and on Friday July 7 will be premiering a solo show by Beizar Aradini.