A contributed photo of the Ansonia Main Street gallery in 2018.
ANSONIA – The Valley Arts Council’s Main Street Gallery, located on 258 Main St., closed its doors to the public on May 26.
Valley Arts Council President Rich DiCarlo said the closing was caused by an increase in rent and a decline in foot traffic since the COVID-19 pandemic. The space will be used by New Era Barber Shop, the space’s new tenant after the council let their lease expire.
The gallery, which was also used as a workspace by Valley artists and as a classroom for arts classes, will see its functions dispersed across a few different locations.
A new gallery will be set up inside the main hallway of Ansonia Armory on 5 State St., according to Rich DiCarlo, the Valley Art Council’s president. He also said two rooms on the second floor will be used as a workspace, classroom, office, and storage.
Local art will also be displayed inside the Ansonia Nature Center. A wall at Safari Kaffeine Fix on 336 E. Main St already contains local art.
DiCarlo said the council will still be doing all the work they did before – just more spread out.
“It was a shot in the back of the head, so to speak,” DiCarlo said in a phone call with the Valley Indy. “But being the artists, we’re very resilient, and it’s not our first time we’ve been chased out or shut down before. It’s happened to us about three or four times, so we’re resilient.”
The council had previously been located in a Derby gallery on Elizabeth Street until 2015, when its owner converted that space into a liquor store. They moved next door (still on Elizabeth Street), but eventually moved to Ansonia’s Main Street in December of 2018.
DiCarlo struck an optimistic tone, saying that without the need to pay rent, he’s free to find other ways to spend the council’s money. He said he was looking into purchasing an “art van” – a van that could take classes and art on the road to the seven towns the council serves.
Two local artists who work with the council – Tommie Howell and Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg – were less joyful. They each said that the gallery was an effective central gathering space for Valley artists.
“I’m so, so sorry to see this go,” Schwarzenberg wrote in a Facebook comment beneath a post about the closing in a community group. “The gallery was a home for us, a gathering place and a Mecca for the creatives in town. We accepted everyone, regardless of skill level or talent.”
Howell echoed Schwarzenberg’s sentiments in a phone call with the Valley Indy.
“It was a classroom, it was a place for artists to gather and socialize. I used the time to actually work on paintings and stuff there. It was a working gallery,” Howell said.
The council enjoys a close relationship with Mayor David Cassetti’s administration, which is helping with the move to the Armory, according to DiCarlo and Howell.
The Valley Arts Council’s region includes the towns of Shelton, Derby, Ansonia, Seymour, Beacon Falls, Oxford, and Naugatuck.
DiCarlo said to expect to see more of the council in the future, not less.
“It’s a blessing in disguise. We’re able to take the money that would go to rent and we can focus the money on programming, and that will help everybody out, I think. It’s more of an opportunity for everybody to experience the arts,” DiCarlo said.
