From left: 1708 founding member Joe Seipel, Director Emily Smith and Curator Park Myers (Photo by Ash Daniel)
It’s the first Friday of the month in Richmond, and, like most galleries on Broad Street, 1708 is packed to the brim with the city’s colorful creative class. To the casual art stroller, the gallery seems like just another stop on the busy Arts District tour, but there was a time when 1708 was one of the only places in the city to see contemporary art.
It started out as an idea batted around by a group of young Richmond artists frustrated with the local arts scene. Galleries were few and far between, and censorship was a growing issue among the more conservative art spaces that dominated the scene. Together, the artists rented out and repaired a flood-damaged warehouse at 1708 Main Street in Shockoe Bottom, turning it into an artistic hub that Richmond sorely needed. The year was 1978.
Exhibition poster for 1708 Gallery from 1980 (Image courtesy 1708 Gallery)
Founding member Joe Seipel, now the interim director at the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, remembers putting in 30 to 40 hours a week in the early days. From spackling walls to organizing their first shows, the founders stayed busy. Each member also chipped in $35 a month to keep the gallery running. “It was a real grassroots effort. We were as cooperative as 17 artists can possibly be together,” he says, laughing. “We worked it out for the better good.”
1708 Gallery was an immediate hit, with hundreds of people showing up to their early openings, including one memorable exhibition involving male nudes and Joe Morrissey. (Just Google it.) “It was a sign of the times,” Seipel says. “The ’70s were a great time, with a lot of experimentation, and as the city of Richmond grew, it even surprised us, to be honest. We were there at the right time and the right place in a city that was itching to show its creative credentials.”
Forty years later, 1708 continues to be a major player in the arts scene — but it’s grown significantly since its early days. The gallery’s board is still majority artists, but over time it’s transitioned from a working board to a governing board — leaving the work of the gallery to its staff. Emily Smith, 1708’s gallery director since 2010, notes that one of the ways in which it’s continued to evolve is its capacity for supporting artists. “It’s always had at its heart this understanding that there’s a role for a nonprofit to give artists opportunities that are separate from commercial pressure, and by that I mean space, and a platform, and organizational support to make work that might not be as immediately collectible as other things. Instead it allows the artists to play around and experiment and really be as creative and self-developing as possible.”
Exhibition poster for 1708 Gallery from 1980 (Image courtesy 1708 Gallery)
The recent hire of curator Park Christopher Myers, who signed on for a three-year appointment, represents a significant step in fully realizing 1708’s evolution. Myers says he’s taking the gallery’s past into account while planning for its future. “What I found most intriguing about 1708 — and this extends into my practice — is the history of the space and its ability to consistently present contemporary art that challenges the expected artistic landscape of the community it serves,” Myers says. “The roots of the organization are key to how I envisage the upcoming program. In this sense, I look to past projects, the extensive archives and shared knowledge from the steadfast supporters to position what is achievable and relevant to our audience.”
To kick off its 40th year in September, the gallery will host an exhibition featuring works from the late Jerry Donato alongside the work of his former student, Bruce Wilhelm. Donato, who passed away in 2010, played a big role in founding 1708 after pulling out of an exhibition at the VMFA, citing censorship. The exhibit will highlight the significant role that educators have played in 1708’s history.
