The Art Concern’s name hit close to home this year as the gallery adjusted its exhibitions at City Hall to meet state and local restrictions due to COVID-19.
Unsurprisingly, the summer Art Concern exhibits were a little different as the Smile Lines Project by Suzanne Gallagher and A Few Frames by Rebecca Cummings and Rod McIntyre went virtual. A positive outcome of this change is that the exhibits are viewable beyond their display dates. View the current showing at www.grovecityohio.gov/city-council/the-art-concern and follow the link to the city YouTube page for past shows.
The Art Concern was established in July 1991 as a way to give local artists exposure while providing Grove City citizens access to all kinds of art. The Grove City Council, led by local artist and council member Earl Nicholson, sponsored the gallery with help from the Art Concern’s founder and curator, Ray Kline, who passed away last year. The project keeps the arts alive and well throughout the community, promoting creativity and expressiveness.
Clerk of Council Tami Kelly says the Art Concern allows Grove City to showcase local artists and their talents. It’s a win-win for both parties. The artists are given the opportunity to expand their work while the community is exposed to new, interesting art in a variety of media such as photography, mixed media, quilting, charcoal and more.
“They learn about the pieces from the artists during our open houses,” Kelly says, “and it increases the cultural experiences we offer our community and visitors.”
Love and Country
One artist in particular was proud to open her exhibit to a limited number of guests (10 people per visit). U.S. Army veteran Master Sgt. Serbennia Davis’ photography exhibit, Love & Country: Married Military Couples, ran in September.
Master Sgt. Serbennia Davis and her husband Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Davis.
The project’s origins can be traced to Camp Atterbury, Indiana, in 2008, at a U.S. Army training site. Davis, a public affairs chief at the time, trained public affairs detachment units set to deploy overseas and wrote stories with topics ranging from service member profiles and training to missions and personal sacrifice. One topic she touched on was very popular: dual-service couples.
It’s a personal story for Davis. She and her husband, Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Davis, served together. They were one of many married couples who made the difficult choice to leave their children behind in the capable hands of loved ones to serve the country, a difficult track to navigate in a relationship.
“This inspired me to tell their stories,” Davis says, “and share their photos about spouses that loved their country as much as they loved one another.”
Davis reached out to service members in different branches of the military and received the great feedback and encouragement she needed to complete the deeply personal collection.
Through a Lens
Though the photos within Davis’ collection are filled with adoring and dedicated couples in love, assumptions regarding the longevity of military couples are not so positive.
Carol Church of the University of Florida Department of Family, Youth and Community Services challenges these stereotypes in an article shared by the UF extension office.
“It’s really hard to compare the military divorce rate to the civilian divorce rate. We’re comparing apples to oranges,” she says.
Although divorce rates vary depending on the military branch, couples in the service are no more likely to divorce than civilian couples after adjusting for demographic components such as age and education level per the article.
U.S. Army veteran Master Sgt. Serbennia Davis’ photography exhibit, Love & Country: Married Military Couples, ran in September.
Davis hopes her exhibit exemplifies the happy endings of dual military couples without ignoring the challenges they must face together.
“The Love & Country photography exhibition puts a face with the positive statistics,” she says. “These are couples who have endured the test of time and the challenges of mutual military service. They served while married for many years.”
COVID-19
To view exhibits by the Art Concern, guests must call ahead to schedule an appointment at 614-277-3065.
“In this day and age, originals are not always readily available,” Davis points out. “Art lovers are able to view exhibits of photography, paintings and sculptures online through virtual shows.”
This is exactly what patrons can do thanks to the Art Concern. Shows can be seen online through the organization’s YouTube channel.
While many artists may be hindered or disheartened by the changing landscape COVID-19 has thrown them into, Davis offers words of encouragement.
“Continue to be creative,” she says. “Find new and alternative ways of sharing your craft. Use several social media platforms. Don’t limit yourself to traditional methods of selling your artwork. People are still interested!”
Mallory Arnold is an associate editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
