With the walls freshly painted and the art carefully hung, the Graphic Arts gallery is now open for business in College Hill. Within the gallery are works from various local artists as well as owner and curator Lance Johnson.

 

The gallery is the second business to come to College Hill and the only one remaining after the closing of Submarina. Johnson said that he is working closely with College Hill to be a welcoming place for them to introduce people to the area.

 

Johnson said that the gallery will eventually be a place where people come and hang out and be a space to hold events for the community. There will also be local musicians playing weekly to provide music for the gallery.

 

Currently, many different local artists are displaying their works. The gallery is hosting several cinematic reproductions created by Michael Hayes who works for Washburn University’s facility services. Johnson said that they were made from PVC and were wearable works, two of which are characters from the movie Ironman.

 

Johnson said that he wants his gallery to be there for the students of Washburn, not only as a place for them to display their artwork, but also a place for them to find resources to help them with their artwork. Johnson himself could be considered a resource, having worked in the Upstage Gallery in Topeka and the Vibration Gallery in Lawrence as a curator.

 

Johnson said that there will be events in the gallery’s future to help students. One particular event will be the Marco Angelo Apprenticeship. This particular event is being held to link professional artists with apprentices. Booths for the event cost $50 and can be purchased by stopping by the gallery located at the corner of 17th and Washburn.