Village Gallery of Arts

I first learned of this gallery by driving by since we live close. I’m an artist from Arizona, and this was my first experience to try and learn how to display some of my stuff around Portland. I took a chance and decided to sign up for their annual «art challenge» back in… May i think. Upon visiting the gallery to acquire my canvasses, however, it seemed as if no one knew what was going on. They have volunteers to sit at the front during business hours, but i would think that the person headlining the show would either be more present, or inform the staff better of the situation.
I returned my work to the gallery on time for the month-​long show, and found that they hung it in the corner. It took me a while to find it, actually. A lot of pieces had already sold, but after looking closer at the artists, and talking to the person on staff that day, it seems as though this show is mostly a money maker for the gallery’s close-​knit circle of friends who wanted to inundate the gallery with 20 pieces of their work. Not many other artists were considered.
After the show was over, i stopped by again to see how the gallery was normally kept. It appeared dated — the artwork was mostly still life and landscape, something your grandmother would have in her house. It’s a small space as it is, and it seemed poorly organized. Half of the gallery itself is dedicated to a classroom space, which is great, but they need to work the space to better allow work to be shown and interacted with for better business.
To me, it just wasn’t worth the hassle — dated style, unorganized, unfriendly people, and difficult business hours. I’ve had much better experiences at local cafes with showing my work.