Looking to build on Madison's reputation as a high-energy and culturally diverse business environment, a graduate professor of education psychology is set to open his new State Street Gallery, an art gallery specializing in post-modern art Saturday.
The State Street Gallery, 109 State St., is the second business venture being undertaken by owner and curator, Anthony Dallman-Jones.
Dallman-Jones, who teaches at Marian College in Fond du Lac, together with his son Zak Jones and good friend Barbara Schneider, decided to open the gallery after a good experience with their previous gallery in Fond du Lac.
\We felt that it [State Street] was a much better location from the business perspective,"" says Dallman-Jones, ""And from a personal perspective, my wife and I have always been big State Street fans.""
Dallman-Jones is a man with a vested interest in the visual arts. For Dallman-Jones, opening a gallery in Madison on State St. is a ""dream come true.""
""Ten years ago to the day of this Saturday's opening, my son and I stood on State Street and dreamed of how great opening an art gallery on State Street would be,"" said Dallman-Jones.
Their dream will come to fruition with this weekend's opening. The gallery opens at 10 a.m. Saturday morning with music from Jack Talbot from noon until 5 p.m. A ribbon cutting will be held at 1 p.m., followed by a reception at 6 p.m.
In addition to showcasing and selling art, Dallman-Jones said he wants his gallery to be involved in the community. ""I'm not a big believer in the passive art gallery thing,"" Dallman-Jones said. ""I want to be more interactive.""
The gallery plans to be involved both with secondary schools and UW-Madison. Dallman-Jones said he plans on having yearly student art exhibitions to encourage aspiring artists, and events to get kids involved in art, with art classes or projects designed specifically for them. He said he also hopes that the gallery will get students and others to realize how great art can be.
Dallman-Jones's mission to bring the message of art to the community is a good one, according to Freida High Wasikhongo Tesfagiorgis, Professor in the Department of Afro-American Studies and the Department of Art at UW-Madison.
""Art galleries in Madison are important to the intellectual/aesthetic interest of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and to the larger Madison community,"" Tesfagiorgis said.
""I think another venue for the business of art, which offers public edification, healthy debate, and valued commodities, is more than warranted,"" she said.
UW-Madison freshman Claude Drehfal agreed, saying, ""Anything else off-campus that can enhance my cultural experiences and be interesting at the same time is a good thing.\
