SAG* holds pop-up art gallery at Ore Dock, artists talk community support

ART+DISPLAY+%E2%80%94+Joe+Wright+shows+off+his+art+at+the+Ore+Dock+Student+Art+Galley+display.+The+Student+Art+Gallery+is+located+on+the+first+floor+of+the+Lydia+Olson+Library+on+campus.

Photo courtesy of Joe Wright

ART DISPLAY — Joe Wright shows off his art at the Ore Dock Student Art Galley display. The Student Art Gallery is located on the first floor of the Lydia Olson Library on campus.

Harry Stine

NMU’s Students’ Art Gallery (SAG), hosted a pop-up art gallery at the Ore Dock Brewing Company on Oct. 18, from 5 to 8 p.m.

SAG employee and art and design major Lily Lindgren attended the event for the first time and was able to showcase her artwork. She had a variety of photography prints and postcards in the show, adding that the postcards sold pretty well.

“I didn’t do the show to make money,” Lindgren said. “I just wanted to have conversations about my work and have people look at my work. And it just felt really good to have people be like, ‘Oh, I recognize this, and this is so beautiful.’”

Lindgren estimated that they had around 15 artists with work on display at the Ore Dock. Due to the sheer volume of art, some artists had to share tables to fit all of their pieces. 

SAG employee and neuroscience major Adele Noel-Rickert, who specializes in digital art, was able to set up near an electrical outlet so people could watch her work and ask questions while eyeing the art she had on sale. 

“I would say it was positive,” Noel-Rickert said. “I remember some people quickly coming up the stairs saying they heard this was going on and wanted to look around and how exciting it was the school was giving us this opportunity.”

Joe Wright, another SAG employee and art and design major, spent the month before the event compiling and creating art that he felt best represented himself. His struggle was finding where to stop. Ultimately, he had stickers, posters and even a few woodworked pieces on sale at the gallery.

“Seeing members of the community coming out to appreciate my work and the work of all the incredibly gifted makers I got to share the space with brought an amount of joy I haven’t experienced in a long while,” Wright said.

Wright, who was an art student at Michigan State University for three years, praised the relationship between local businesses and student organizations in the Marquette area, something he said did not exist to the same degree downstate.

All three employees had comments about feeling support from and sharing excitement with fellow student artists.

“Don’t be too surprised to see more SAG events pop up in the future,” Wright said. “While I can’t confirm or deny anything at the moment, I can say with a high degree of confidence this is not the last SAG event you’ll see in the coming months.”