New downtown gallery space — the Art on the Prairie Atelier — is under construction at 1107-1109 Second St. in Perry and aims to be open for the Sept. 28-29 Art Harvest Tour.
The Artelier is the latest brainchild of the Art on the Prairie committee, which organizes both the annual Art on the Prairie festival each November as well as the Art Harvest Tour each September.
The Art on the Prairie Board of Directors is composed of Board President Jenny Eklund, Vice President and Co-Treasurer Mary Nichols, Co-Treasurer and Technical Director Sven Peterson and Secretary Colleen Eckhoff. Peterson, whose day job is Perry City Administrator, acquired the Second Street property in January.
Nichols said the atelier will host artists in fibers, textiles and print during the sixth annual Art Harvest Tour, which rolls out Saturday, Sept. 28 and Sunday, Sept. 29, luring tourists to its 11 stops at local studios and galleries from Ames, Boone and Dallas Center to Ogden, Perry and Woodward.
The free self-guided tour runs both days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“This is an opportunity to visit many studios and see where the creativity takes place,” said Nichols, a founding member of the Art on the Prairie festival.
Nichols and her postal partners from La Poste, Eckhoff and Ecklund, joined with Ogden sculptors Ryk Weiss and Pam Dennis to found the first Art Harvest Tour in 2014. The event is held on the last weekend of September.
The full build out of the Art on the Prairie Atelier will be completed in time for this year’s 10th annual Art on the Prairie event, Saturday, Nov. 9 and Sunday, Nov. 10.
