The newest bloom on the 124 Street arts scene has completed its five-year growth cycle, much to the chagrin of its owners. Daffodil Gallery owners Karen Bishop and Rick Rogers announced last month that they have decided to shut the store down. The big send-off is this weekend and they promised a celebration more akin to a wake than a memorial.
She cited several contributing factors toward the gallery’s decline, including the overarching economic downturn and the prolonged closure of the nearby 102 Avenue bridge. That project began on July 1, 2014 and was originally scheduled for 15-months of work. The infamous girdle-buckling incident of last March put the entire construction back at least a year.
That same combination of factors may have also played major roles in the upcoming closure of Call the Kettle Black located just a few blocks away in the High Street area. The longstanding kitchenware business earned two solid decades of success first on Whyte Avenue and then in its current spot since 2005. While that store’s owners didn’t offer comments directly, Bishop heard his reasons through other news outlets.
“He basically gave the exact same reasons for it. It’s a huge problem. I suspect more (stores) are going to close,” she speculated.
The Daffodil had a short but remarkable life. In between their regular offering of new art exhibits on a monthly turnover, Bishop and Rogers hosted a Whyte Avenue Art Walk holdover show and frequently also offered a variety of performers including musicians, poets, and spoken word artists for special events.
In 2014, they were doing so well that they managed to crowdfund enough financing to enable them to expand the store by more than half of its previous size. The building that houses it, however, is still in the middle of a prolonged renovation to the exterior, and the obscured signage might also have had a negative effect on visibility to consumers.
Alas, there was just too much to fight against. The perfect storm of circumstances meant that the closure was inevitable. Since they were facing higher rent, even the timing of the lease renewal at the end of this month played a role.
“It made sense to just close.”
There was a slate of more than 30 artists from the metropolitan Edmonton region on the walls there (including several well known painters from St. Albert and Sturgeon County): Miles Constable, Bruce Allen, Mike Dendy, Teresa Graham, Judy Schafers, and Linda Willard.
Schafers had been represented by the Daffodil since the very beginning. She loved the place and the community that it created. She is disappointed with how things worked out.
“I believe that the gallery's slogan, 'art without pretense' and their many creative, unusual ways to bring people into the space exposed many new people to original art that otherwise may never have been,” she said. “They were easy to work with and made it a good experience from which I learned a lot and the show was a big success. I will be sad to see it go.”
Constable suggested that what meant the most to him was that it offered a psychological boost. He noted that the gallery’s philosophy had a large part in creating the right environment for exhibitor and consumer alike.
“One of the biggest hurdles to overcome as an artist is self-doubt: ‘is my work good enough? Am I good enough?’ Acceptance by the Daffodil dealt with that self-doubt. Art without pretense was their motto. There was none of that, just good art at good prices. They will be missed.”
Sounding rather optimistic now that the decision has been made and the end is nigh, Bishop said that she and Rogers were both very proud of what they accomplished.
“I wouldn’t do anything differently,” she continued. “I think we did bring a different vibe to the art community. I hope that someone picks up on that. It was a fun five years.”
To help draw in a good crowd for its last two days today and tomorrow, the gallery is having a customer appreciation weekend with a big sale on the art – along with some of the furniture and fixtures – to help sell off what it can. Entertaining the guests and providing some cheery ambiance will be some of the musicians who have previously played to the gallery’s audience: Carrie Day and Rebecca Lappa on Saturday and Jessica Heine on Sunday.
Rogers has always maintained a visible presence as one of the senior artists at the Visual Arts Studio Association, and Bishop says that she’s going to follow suit.
“It’s time to go back to my art. I have four shows lined up.”
