East Lansing welcomed a new artist co-op to its downtown this past weekend.
The Grove Gallery Co-Op, located at 325 Grove Street next to the Woven Art Yarn & Fiber Gallery, is a six-member co-op that’s supported by the City of East Lansing. 
The city’s Cultural Entrepreneurship Program allows qualified artists to receive subsidies for renting a space in the co-op.
The six artists who rent space also work in the gallery. Two off-site artists work outside of the gallery, but show their work in the space.
The Grove Gallery Co-Op artists work in sculpture, printmaking, pastel paintings, oil paintings, weaving, beadwork, free-form sculptural weaving with natural materials, fused glass, pottery and fiber arts.
“It’s important, for one thing, to support the cultural artists activities in the downtown,” says Heather Pope with the City of East Lansing. “In the downtown we have SCENE Metrospace, Trillium Gallery, Mackerel Sky and Woven Art. We’re creating something that we haven’t had, and it’s unique. It’s a draw for people to come downtown.”
The city started working on the co-op last fall. Artists officially moved in during the spring of 2008. The six in-house spots filled up immediately, but the Grove Gallery Co-Op continually takes applications.
Source: Heather Pope, City of East Lansing
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie
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