HSU First Street Gallery

The HSU First Street Gallery

HSU First Street Gallery is a contemporary, fine arts gallery located in the E. Janssen Building at 422 1st Street in the historic Old Town district of Eureka, California. The gallery, which supports the Exhibition Programs of Humboldt State University, is an off-campus, non-profit student-oriented public outreach program and gallery which showcases regional, national and international artists, as well as art by faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the university.^[1][2]

Mission

First Street Gallery is charged with the mission of providing the North Coast community of California and the community of Humboldt State University with access to contemporary art by regional, national and international artists, as well as providing a visiting artists program. Within the gallery, HSU students prepare, install, manage and curate the exhibitions. The students work in conjunction with HSU's Museum and Gallery Practices program through the HSU Art Department, while emphasizing the importance of environmentally conscious practices. Additionally, the students in HSU's Art Education program utilize the exhibitions as a resource for their curriculum while working with local K-12 students. The First Street Gallery states that its goal is to create a dialogue about important contemporary cultural issues with the community. With an emphasis on encouraging and facilitating local interest in the arts, HSU First Street Gallery has, since 1998, produced numerous exhibitions of contemporary art in a wide array of art forms.

History

First Street Gallery was founded in 1998 by Humboldt State University. The gallery receives over 20,000 visitors a year.

Programs

First Street Gallery is a learning environment for students from the Museum and Gallery Practices Program. The HSU Art Education Program uses the First Street Gallery as a service learning site for teaching local K-12 students. First Street Gallery brings national and international artists to HSU through the Visiting Artists Program, with the stated purpose of providing to California's North Coast, an expanded, in-depth exposure to new art forms that would otherwise be unavailable to the local population.

Events

On the first Saturday of every month the First Street Gallery participates in the local arts promotion event of Arts Alive!, in which Eureka's galleries and museums are open to the public new exhibitions, shows, theater and musical performances. During this event, First Street Gallery hosts an opening reception for its current exhibitions. This presents an opportunity for the public to meet with the artists exhibiting at the gallery.

References

External links

• First Street Gallery webpage
• Humboldt State University

Coordinates: 40°48′18.47″N 124°10′1.98″W / 40.8051306°N 124.1672167°W / 40.8051306; -124.1672167