South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC)’s Leonor R. Fuller Gallery at The Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts has been a well-loved hub for creativity at SPSCC for many years with a mission of fostering transformative education and community connections through engaging and challenging exhibitions and programming. Since January 2018, Gallery Director Sean Barnes and a committee of fellow SPSCC faculty and members of the arts community have collaborated to help grow the gallery with support from the SPSCC Foundation.
“The Foundation really does a lot for the campus in terms of promotion of student success, outreach to the community and garnering support,” explained Sean. “They also help connect the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery to artists, donors and sponsors.”
The SPSCC Foundation’s support became crucial during the pandemic, which greatly reduced accessibility for artists, restricted in-person public events, and impacted the gallery’s fundraising capabilities. One example of how the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery and the SPSCC Foundation worked together was when the gallery’s signature Fine Arts Postcard fundraising event was at risk. The event was the brainchild of former SPSCC Art Faculty Carol Hannum and was one of the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery’s most significant fundraisers. This exhibition is put together by donations from both local artists and those with ties to the gallery from across the country. Emerging and established artists create and donate their own distinctive postcards based around a different theme each year. The postcards are then auctioned off during a silent auction that, pre-pandemic, took place face-to-face.
As with most in-person gatherings, the pandemic forced Sean and everyone involved with the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery to reassess how they could still continue with the exhibition without jeopardizing anyone’s health. “We really had to pose the question,” explained Sean, “how do we continue to raise the needed funds to support our programming in this environment?” That’s when the gallery staff worked with Evan Skytte, Development Director on the Foundation team, to develop a strategy for moving the Postcard Show fundraising event to an online auction page.
Sean remarked how, under the circumstances, the 2021 fundraiser surprised everyone with how well it performed. “Although we had a slight drop in the number of donations from artists,” stated Sean, “the online auction ended up performing better than it had in previous years when we could hold it in-person.” Based on this success, the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery has plans to continue offering the online option in the future. Keep an eye out for next year’s Fine Art Postcard Exhibition theme “From the Edge”.
The success of this event led to an opening of virtual doors. While being a constant work in progress, a great deal of work has been put into uploading online archives with the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery’s pieces to the SPSCC website. Sean explained how the extra effort provided more opportunities for interested individuals to engage with the gallery. Additionally, the online archives offer detailed information about the artists. The goal is to create a digital archive of current and future exhibitions to preserve them for years to come.
Prior to the pandemic another exhibit was in the works. This exhibit was spearheaded by Poet and Artist, Thresea “Mama Tee” Yost, and supported by the SPSCC Foundation and the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery. Sean initially met Mama Tee through her participation in the Fine Art Postcard Exhibition and was excited to support her vision for an Olympia African American Arts gala. Mama Tee reached out to local black artists and was able to bring together musicians, cooks, painters, poets, and many other artists interested in participating, thus building a foundational roster of black artists in Thurston County.
Mama Tee’s devotion to the Arts Gala was apparent throughout the community. The event was officially on the calendar for spring of 2019 to be held at her chosen venue downtown. However, just two weeks before the opening, all plans were halted due to a medical emergency preventing Mama Tee from continuing to drive the event.
While on the mend, Mama Tee passed off her artist roster to Sean. “I knew we could still make something happen with the help of the SPSCC Foundation and the gallery,” Sean shared. After another regrouping effort, an exhibit called Futures Rising was officially on the calendar for October 2020.
Featuring 15 talented artists from throughout the community, including the recovered exhibit curator, Mama Tee, Futures Rising was a smashing success and presented a timely and poignant display of black artists’ work. Once the exhibition wrapped up, talks were in the works for another exhibit with a similar theme to open in February of 2021. Entitled CLOSER, preparation for the exhibit began with asking artists from Futures Rising to submit a portfolio that would culminate with a selection of three artists. The final result: artwork that expanded on conversations around color prejudice, hegemony, and an exploration of life’s mysteries through paintings, collage, and photographs. “These two exhibitions drew a spotlight on Olympia’s extremely talented artists from people around state and even into Oregon,” explained Sean. “A few even went on to win grants and have continued to further their careers, all thanks to the generous work of Mama Tee.”
After wrapping up the two exhibitions and evaluating both the success and importance, Black Love – Community Building Through Mentorship was born. This exhibition was available for in-person viewing mid-February through mid-March of 2022 and featured returning artists from the 2020 Futures Rising Exhibition who mentored emerging artists. In this dialogic exhibition, the pairs of mentors and mentees exhibited their work, exploring the affinities between their practices individually and collaboratively. “Once again this exhibit wouldn’t have been possible without the continuous efforts of Mama Tee,” Sean remarked. “She’s truly a maven, connector, and anchor that’s so essential to building community in both the arts and in general life.”
Discussions are already being had regarding future exhibits. Sean hopes to plan more exhibits around national celebrations. “The Leonor R. Fuller Gallery continues to evolve year after year,” stated Sean. “It’s been so humbling and such a joy working with our local artists and witnessing a few of them making art a part of their daily lives. The artists in our latest exhibitions have truly enlightened me as I’ve had the chance learn about their experience.” Sean also talked about the importance of mentors like Mama Tee and SPSCC Dean of Humanities, Communication, and the Arts Melissa Meade, as well as the entire campus which is continuously working towards diversity equity and inclusion.
Exhibits rotate through the Fuller Gallery roughly every month in addition to a few shorter exhibits and one six-week summer gallery. To learn more about the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery and view past and upcoming exhibits, visit the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery website or visit the gallery in-person. To give in support of the gallery or diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at SPSCC, please visit the South Puget Sound Community College Foundation website.
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