Senior painting students from the Tyler School of Art opened a gallery on South Street to display their work.
Stephen Giannascoli, owner of Triad Realty Inc. and a representative of the properties on South Street, said he contacted Tyler because his company wanted Tyler to have a presence on South Street.
Initially, school officials declined because they didn’t want to take on another gallery during the transition to Main Campus.
With the help of 16 students, Theresa Kitch, chair of student affairs at Tyler, worked with Triad Realty to obtain gallery space.
Associate Dean of Tyler Brigitte Knowles encouraged Kitch to aid students in the process.
Kitch accompanied Andrea Caldarise, a senior painting major, to the property on South Street to sign the lease.
Knowles said she feels “positive about [the] opportunities that the South Street venue offers to young artists.”
The gallery is made up of works from 16 senior painters. Among the 16 painters is Christy Romano.
“I take part in watching the gallery. All 16 of us divided up the work and take turns monitoring everything,” Romano said, adding that she thinks the gallery is a success so far.
The students involved divided the shows into three groups of painters. There has already been a show for one of the groups.
“Originally, when we came down to Main Campus from Tyler, we weren’t sure if they’d have space for their [bachelor’s of fine art] shows,” Kitch said. “Because of the new situation, some of the planning was up in the air.”
Students looked into the idea of taking the space on South Street because they wanted space for their bachelor’s of fine arts shows. Tyler provides students with limited space for their galleries.
“They decided they would try to do this on their own to get the experience and to try to show their work,” Kitch said.
“Since there were very few slots for BFA shows this semester, I’m using [the South Street gallery] as my BFA exhibition,” Romano said.
Caldarise took on most of the responsibility among the students. She started the gallery, signed the lease and coordinated the student group.
Other students heavily involved are Lauren Herring, Glenna Ryer, Jamie Straw, Chris D’Antonio, Rob Kelleher and Ally Boyd.
“They’ve been doing really well,” Kitch said. “It has been a good experience for our students, and I am impressed with the cooperative effort that they’ve made to handle this venture successfully.”
The Tyler Gallery on South Street is associated with the South Street Arts Initiative and the Eyes Gallery. Some of the vendors on South Street who had empty stores tried to bring Tyler to South Street. Many of the vendors and restaurants on South Street have contributed food during the students’ shows.
“The Tyler administration appreciated this opportunity for our students to have a presence on South Street,” Kitch said.
Valerie Rubinsky can be reached at valerie.rubinsky@temple.edu.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Senior painting major Andrea Caldarise also serves as a designer for The Temple News.
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