TYLER, Texas — The City of Tyler has been working to breathe life into the downtown area by promoting the art scene.
Gallery Main Street moved into the Plaza Tower in February and had its first showcase, the Caldwell Arts School exhibition, in March just before the coronavirus outbreak hit East Texas.
"We were very fortunate to be able and go ahead and have that opening right before all of this happened,” said Amber Rojas, Gallery Main Street director.
However, the pandemic put a halt on the next showcase, at least until the gallery figured out a new way to bring it to the public.
“We had to rearrange the timeline,” said Rojas. “We had to make a lot of changes because we did not want to cancel this one.”
After asking local artists to submit work for a Spring Collection, 27 pieces of work from 13 locals were selected.
"We were able to take photos of it and do a virtual tour and we are working on fine-tuning that process online,” Rojas explained.
The virtual tour can be viewed at VisitTyler.com/GalleryMainStreet. It even has a hidden egg in the virtual tour, but it’s not easy to find.
“My 3-year-old son was with me when I kept trying to film it,” Rojas said.
While artwork is subjective, Rojas says the Spring Collection makes her feel calm, while also bringing her hope and happiness—something we all could use during this uncertain time.
“Art brings us together in so many ways and it’s about time we share something beautiful out there,” Rojas said. “Show all the good things and positive things that are happening in our community.”
Rojas says she hopes the exhibit, which runs until July, will be open to the public with social distancing guidelines by June.
“We also want to be able to create a digital photo album on Facebook so people can look at the title, the artist and the price as well and be able to contact if they’re interested,” Rojas stated.
Moving into the Plaza Tower will give the art gallery longer hours once it reopens.
“Monday through Thursday, it’s 8 a.m. until 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, it's 8 p.m. until 11 p.m.," Rojas said.
There are plans to add more levels to Gallery Main Street and open up a retail store.
“Once we put our retail store up in the Visitor Center located in the Plaza Tower, they’ll (artists) be able to possibly sell some reprints or kind of other retail items they have with their art,” said Rojas. “We’re going to be adding an artist membership later on in the year. They’ll be able to either get discounts for renting out the space or when they submit online for our next exhibit and also be a part of a preferred artist referral list.”