There are days in our work when we sit down with an organization that has fundamentally changed the way our community looks and feels -- organizations like 1708 Gallery.
For 34 years, 1708 Gallery has paved the way for modern art in Richmond, and changed the way many Richmonders have considered art. Through big public exhibitions -- the Go Fish! Project in 2001, the edgy Wearable Art show, the annual InLight installation -- and through small, but dynamic, installations in its West Broad Street gallery, 1708 has moved the needle on art in Richmond.
As #RVA settles into a new arts-centric groove -- the expanded VMFA, the pending arrival of VCU's Institute for Contemporary Art, an arts district on Broad Street, a new chapter for the popular First Fridays art walk -- the team at 1708 is preparing for 34 more years of challenging the status quo.
We began our strategic engagement with 1708's staff and board at the end of September with a full-day exploration at the Linden Row Inn. We'll regroup with a small project team in October to build a strategic framework for the gallery, and position the board to finalize the work over the next several months.