Tucked in the corner behind Intermissions Coffee and across from the existing Curfman Gallery is a new space for displaying works of art. The Lory Student Center Arts Program recently opened the Sideshow Gallery, which will replace the Hallery, in the LSC. This new space is filled with natural light that will allow student artwork to shine.
“Student artists at this stage in their career know where they want to be; they know where they are, and I think knowing where they want to be and where they are and seeing that gap in between makes them a little hesitant to show their artwork,” LSC Arts Program Manager Doug Sink said.
Sink got his MFA at Colorado State University in sculpture, which gives him the ability to relate to young CSU artists.
“I also think showing their artwork is really important for their development as artists,” Sink said. “We really want to encourage them by creating a space that has some prestige to it and lets them see how important their artwork is.”
Sink has been working full time with the LSC Arts Program since 2010.
“We have a collection of about 350 pieces of art in the building that we manage,” Sink said. “We run six exhibitions a year in the Curfman Gallery and two in the up in the Duhesa Gallery.”
Sink went on to talk about how they needed a space with more foot traffic in order for students’ art to get noticed. Because the Sideshow Gallery space has always been an overflow area for the Curfman, the pieces all fell into place.
“Let’s bring it some prestige so that it is near one of our premier gallery spaces and seen in a really positive way but also try not to make it elitist in a way that turns people off,” Sink said.
The Sideshow Gallery is that middle ground.
Sink mentioned the rarity of vandalism or art not being treated well in the Hallery.
“I am not concerned that any of those same (vandalism) issues will be present up here,” Sink said.
The Sideshow can also be seen from the Curfman Gallery, where the LSC Arts Program always has a docent watching.
The current Sideshow Gallery exhibit is the Student Fibers Showcase. This is the debut show for the gallery. The walls are lined with fiber students’ artwork, and it is curated by Miles Buchan.
The Assistant Manager of the LSC Arts Program, Claudia Bokulich, started in 2022 and helped come up with ideas for the Sideshow Gallery late last spring semester. The Gallery is a fully student-run space. From the artwork to the curation, it is made for students, by students.
“The Hallery was just a hallway, and this is a nice size, and that seems more legitimate,” Bokulich said. Claire Havenhill, a docent and installer at the LSC Arts Program, has some work included in the Student Fibers Showcase, which is her primary medium.
“The Sideshow Gallery is always open whenever the building is open,” Havenhill said. “You can do homework, grab a coffee, sit in there and look at some art.”
Havenhill also explained that artists don’t have to be in the art department to submit things for the gallery; it is open to anyone willing to display their creations.
Those interested in submitting work for the Sideshow Gallery can send an email with images to lsc_artsprogram@colostate.edu.
