On Wednesday, Feb. 1, Zu Gallery in Cortez will host its opening night for its “Food” art show to benefit the Good Samaritan food pantry.
This is the sixth community pop-up put on by Zu since it opened more than a year-and-a-half ago. Past themes included bloom, soul, breathe, celebrate and darkness.
All local artists of any age and artistic style are invited to participate in the art show, but artists must stick to the show’s theme of food.
There is no limit to the kind of art that can be showcased and sold at the event, and Zu Gallery owner Jodi Jahrling notes that the art can be anything from jewelry to paintings to sculptures, as long as they fit the food theme. Each artist is welcome to bring up to four pieces to showcase and sell.
“It has grown exponentially,” Jahrling said. “Our first show hosted about 30 pieces, and the most recent show had over 100 pieces with the youngest artist based in Mancos, age 13, exhibiting for the third time. When all is said and done, it’s about community and sharing a glimpse into the amazing creativity that is represented in our area and helping our community by helping Good Samaritan Food Pantry.”
Teaming up with Good Samaritan Food Pantry for the event happened through Facebook. Jahrling said she and Good Samaritan Executive Director Kirbi Foster are friends on Facebook, and Foster’s post sparked the idea.
“She had posted this amazing photo of that bean that’s in the promo materials, and she jokingly said, ‘Hey, somebody needs to hire me to do food photography.’ I saw somebody comment, ‘Hey, you should ask Jodi about exhibiting at the gallery,’ and so I kind of latched on to that and then was like, ‘Well, let's take it to another level and make it something to benefit the pantry and that's just kind of how it got kicked off,’” Jahrling said.
Artists can register their art online at zugallery.com to save time at check-in on the day of the art show. The guidelines for the artwork and the show can also be found at that link.
For those who wish to view and purchase art on opening night Feb. 1, there will be a $5 entrance fee or food item donation. The show will begin at 6 p.m.
All money donated, including the entrance fee, will go toward the food pantry. A percentage of purchased art will go to the food pantry along with a percentage to the artist.
“I love that this has the potential of bringing people together around food, art and the pantry. That's something that has been important to me since I started,” Foster said. “I’m also hoping that we can come together and think about our relationship to nourishment, scarcity and abundance.”
The remaining show days run from Feb. 2 through Feb. 9, and there will be no entry fee on those days.
Zu Gallery is at 48 W. Main St. and is in the building that formerly housed Havran Dry Cleaners.
