The city of Dayton’s First Friday, a monthly event that opens up downtown art galleries and businesses to draw in visitors, is coming up this week, but it comes with bad news from one downtown gallery. The Connecting Art and Design Community (CADC), formerly known as the Cannery Gallery, is shutting its doors at the end of the month.
Christy Jennewein, who heads the gallery and event space and was involved in founding First Fridays, says she has struggled with funding.
“People won’t come downtown for some reason,” she said. “So, some of the people in the suburbs that have great homes to put art into maybe may not come down to see us.”
First Fridays help promote art spaces downtown, but Jennewein says revenue from sales and events hasn’t added up. She also says it’s not just her gallery: in nine years in downtown Dayton, she’s probably seen ten galleries come and go.
CADC is considering joining forces with K12, another downtown arts organization, to house its 20 or so member artists. The organization is having a moving sale through the end of June.
Lewis Wallace is WYSO's economics reporter and substitute morning host. Follow him @lewispants.
