Since mounting its first group show on 11/11/11, upstart local art collective The Pharmacy has already become something of a Springfield institution. Along with providing work space for a variety of area visual artists, the 401 South Grand Ave. West location has also become a haven for local writers via its “Pharmacy Literati” wing, as well as something of an ad hoc community center, playing host to numerous events and workshops. This Saturday, The Pharmacy will not only hold a third group show in its warehouse space at 1022 S. Pasfield, it will also simultaneously debut a new permanent gallery space next door.
The gallery will be run in part by Alison Lacher, the Visual Arts Gallery Manager at UIS, who plans to bring in work from New York and Chicago artists as well as some from the Rhode Island School of Design and Michigan’s Cranbrook Academy. There will also be guest curators from like-minded arts co-ops in other Illinois communities such as Peoria and Bloomington.
Pharmacy openings have earned a reputation as vibrant, eclectic social events and Saturday promises to up the ante. The warehouse portion will be familiar to previous attendees, featuring a variety of work by member artists, while over at the gallery, UIS professors Mike Miller, Shane Harris and Dave Kube have constructed an elaborate installation involving video projection, sculpture and other disparate elements.
The UIS artists were featured in a July 12, 2012, article in the Illinois Times.
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