Condominium Converted to Temporary Gallery

When Sara Shea decided to open up her Valley House condominium in Collinsville as a temporary art gallery, she simply wanted to display some of her photography.

Shea spent this past winter traveling in Ecuador, South America, and then Key West, FL, as a scholarship recipient to the 2011 Key West Literary Seminar.

After spending time in the arts-friendly Key West, she was inspired. So Shea decided to display her photographs for the first time.

“I got inspired to do something here in Collinsville,” she said. “I wanted to do something fun and feature my photography.” 

Now the idea has grown to include a show that involves other area artists and an idea to raise funds for the American Red Cross disaster relief efforts in Japan. Each photo is accompanied by a Haiku, an ancient form of Japanese poetry.

And Saturday night, an opening reception for “Tropical Adventures: Photography and Poetry by Sara Shea” will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. at 130 Main St., 1B.

Entry to the exhibit is free with the donation of one canned good or non-perishable food for relief efforts. The night will also include an auction of some art work to benefit the effort as well.

In addition, Corey Lynn Tucker will donate half the proceeds from her Japanese Paper Crane photography.

Originally intended to feature Shea’s work alone, she decided to add the photos by Tucker and paintings from local artist Chris O’Herron.

“It sort of has grown exponentially,” Shea said.

Shea said her Valley House condo on Main Street is the only one zoned for business and residential use. Since she was between renters and wanted to work on some improvements to the unit, she figured it was the perfect time for a temporary gallery.

The exhibit will run runs Saturday, April 9, to Sunday, April 24, from noon to 7 p.m. daily.

The opening reception is Saturday, April 9, from 5 to 10 pm. The gallery is located at 130 Main St., 1B, in “The Valley House” in Collinsville. 

Portions of a press release were included in this article.