MANSFIELD — When Diane Googins was curating her own art gallery, she knew she wanted to have a variety of styles in the space.
“I didn’t want a gallery that had only my work in it,” she said. “I wanted to give a voice to the artists locally and a little bit regionally as well.”
Googins named the gallery “Galería Ekkles” to represent her Hispanic heritage and invite other cultural women to showcase their history.
“I obviously want to uplift all artists, but particularly women, because cultural women don’t always have that exposure to working with businesses or being entrepreneurs,” Googins said.
“Galería is in Spanish, and I really wanted that to represent my culture,” she said. “Ekkles is Greek for gathering, so it’s a gallery that has a gathering of people and experiences.”
Galería Ekkles will open Friday afternoon featuring 15 artists and will cycle through new art every three to four months. It is located at 103 N. Main St. suite 203.
There will be arrows and signs posted starting at the stairs in Relax, It’s Just Coffee leading people to the gallery.
Googins said she wanted to feature new and veteran artists who work in a variety of mediums and styles.
“From realism to abstract, we just want to share what the community artists have to offer,” she said. “With this being right downtown, a lot of business people can come down and look at what artists can do to make their places look brighter.”
Googins picked a panel of people to help her decide what art will be displayed in the gallery. She said she has a collection of artists’ names that she hopes can all display art.
“Everyone on the panel looks at the art and we decide together what goes in the gallery,” Googins said. “And that leaves me in an open position with these artists because if we deny them, that wasn’t my decision.
“We might accept pieces later, no one is going to be denied forever.”
Each artist will price their own work and take their own payment, with a small commission to the gallery. As a Mansfield Classical Academy art teacher, Googins said she doesn’t need to depend on gallery sales to make a living.
“Artists have to work really hard to get space sometimes just to make one sale, and I’m trying not to stress them out,” she said. “I want to build them up and let them sell their work at a reasonable price.”
Googins said Galería Ekkles will operate under the same hours as Relax, It’s Just Coffee. She also hopes to host special events or ticketed experiences in the future in partnership with local businesses.
“There might also be expedition nights of just one artist,” she said. “And I want to do a local youth artist feature night as well for our young rising artists.”
Googins said the main goal of Galería Ekkles is to connect artists with residents and the business community.
“I want it to draw the community in to see beautiful work, whether it be canvas, pottery or whatever it is,” she said. “I hope people feel that they can come up after having a cup of coffee and explore.”
Galería Ekkles can be found on Facebook and Instagram. Googins said she will be posting artist bios and work online.
She also encouraged visitors to come back when she cycles new art through or when artists host special events.
The gallery will officially open at 4 p.m. on May 5 and will feature work from the following artists:
— Diane Googins
— Rachel Justice
— Jac Googins
— Demetrius Howell
— Jayne Stahlke
— Melissa Fox
— Sarah Moody
— Talon Baker
— Jeremy Wachtel
— Shawn Auguston
— Whitney Bond
— Robin Shoup
— Sid Caudill
— Kitty Jo Pierce
–Juli Parsons
