Cultural meltdown

At least two more Charlottesville-area art galleries will close in the coming weeks, as art sales continue to lag in the faltering economy.

Two art galleries — Sage Moon Gallery and Migration: A Gallery — had already announced their departures from the Downtown Mall.

Now, two additional galleries — Les Yeux du Monde Art Gallery on West Main Street and the Spruce Creek Gallery near Wintergreen — have confirmed that they are also shuttering because of the economic downturn.

“I’m really sad that we’re losing all these galleries at once,” said Lyn Bolen Warren, owner of Les Yeux du Monde. “We have so many educated people in Charlottesville that you’d think we could support our art galleries. I think this might be a sign of the times.”

The loss of such prominent local art galleries may the most visible sign of the cultural toll of the recession, but the downturn is also being felt by many more area arts organizations, businesses and institutions.

The Paramount Theater, for example, has seen advance ticket sales for its events and shows slow down, said marketing

coordinator Katharine Vlcek.

“We have seen a decline in sales, but at the end of the day when the show is going on, there’s still people in the seats,” she said. “They’re buying their tickets closer to the show date.”

In the past, she said, theatergoers would often purchase tickets months in advance. Now, consumers seem more cautious when it comes to making such purchases, she said.

Paramount Theater fans are also increasingly buying their tickets at the box office, rather than pay the service fees that come with buying over the phone or Internet.

“Things are definitely trending differently these days,” Vlcek said.

The Piedmont Council of the Arts, meanwhile, is one of many arts agencies in Virginia that has been hit by budget cuts as the state government struggles to close a $2.9 billion revenue shortfall brought about by the lackluster economy.

The Charlottesville-based group, which promotes access to and awareness of the arts, relies on the Virginia Commission for the Arts to provide a portion of its operating budget. However, the commission saw its budget slashed by 15 percent for fiscal 2009 and 2010. The Piedmont Council of the Arts, as a result, saw its revenue decline accordingly.

Plus, the Piedmont arts council had planned to tap other state grants totaling around $4,000 to pay for a new computer and a database. Those grants, however, have since been frozen.

“The bottom line is that the arts in our state and our community contribute to the economy and build on our education system,” said Maggie Guggenheimer, executive director of the Piedmont Council of the Arts. “We’re hoping that community members will pick up the phone and let their legislators know the importance of the arts.”

Charlottesville artist Janet Grahame, who makes etching collages in her studio at the McGuffey Art Center, said sales are down a bit, but she is still making enough to get by. “It’s how I earn a living and I’m still here,” she said.

Grahame added that several recent arts events at McGuffey have been well attended. In other words, she said, the market might be slumping right now, but the community’s arts scene remains strong and vibrant.

“For me, this is a happy place right now,” she said. “It’s still cheerful around here.”

In the past, Grahame’s work has been exhibited at the Spruce Creek Gallery, which is located in the old Wintergreen Country Store in Nellysford. The gallery will close by the end of January. It would have marked its 12-year anniversary in April.

Sue Bernard, co-owner of Spruce Creek, said 2008 was so slow that it seemed simply too risky to continue operating the gallery.

“It’s been a very tough year for art sales,” she said. “It’s the economy. The art is the same. The artists are the same. And the people are the same — they just aren’t spending the money.”

Bernard said she hopes to re-open Spruce Creek in some form once the economy rebounds.

Warren, who founded Les Yeux du Monde in 1995, also said she plans to eventually re-open, possible in Albemarle County. She also plans to continue selling artwork through the gallery’s Web site.

Les Yeux du Monde was previously located in a spot on Water Street, off the Downtown Mall. In June, however, it moved to its current location at 500 W. Main St., near the Charlottesville Main Street Market.

Warren also intends to continue sponsoring monthly talks with artists for community members who have an interest in the arts.

“I’m not through at all,” she said. “This is just the beginning of a new phase.”