Art Reach of Mid Michigan shows off new location on Broadway Street

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Piano music drifted through the new Art Reach gallery Thursday, as area residents wandered among the three-dimensional art exhibit in downtown Mount Pleasant.

Art Reach of Mid Michigan hosted a grand opening at its expanded location, 111 E. Broadway St.

Barbara Taylor, president of the Art Reach Board of Directors, said the opening was hosted to show off the new space as well as letting community members see what potential the new building has for the Michigan-based nonprofit.

“It allows us to be far more efficient,” Taylor said. “(The new location) allows us to expand the types of shows that we’re able to have artist participate in.”

Formerly located at 319 S. University Ave., Art Reach has been looking into finding a new location for quite some time. After the Cobbler Shop, 115 E. Broadway St., closed its doors, the owner contacted Art Reach to see if the organization would be interested in purchasing the evacuated building, located next to the current Art Reach gift shop.

Gift shop and gallery coordinator Kim Bigard said the new space offers many advantages for Art Reach’s displays, including full room three-dimensional exhibits.

“We could never do any kind of 3D galleries,” she said. “We were limited to just one wall. Now, the sky’s the limit.”

Bigard said Art Reach now has the potential to host expanded art classes with the new space.

In addition to bringing more participants into art classes, she hopes the new location will bring additional foot traffic to the gallery.

“Now that we’re downtown, we have greater visibility,” Bigard said.

Bigard thinks moving the gallery adjacent to the existing gift shop will make it easier for Art Reach staff to answer questions and provide information for those curious about Art Reach works and programs.

Art Reach Executive Director Kathy Hill said the combining of the two separate locations will make it easier for Art Reach patrons to access everything Art Reach has to offer.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” Hill said.

The featured artist for the grand opening was Rose Wunderbaum Traines, a sculptor who has always been supportive of Art Reach.

Art Reach typically hosts eight shows a year. Since the relocation, Hill and Taylor have both considered decreasing to six shows a year in order to give artists more exposure.

Some of the artists featured at Art Reach exhibits include CMU students as well as local and state artists.