The Garden Collective artists. From left: Dre Ceja, Gabe Darling, Hanni Sindelar, Lou Kirkland
According to a group of local artists, accessibility is key to a great creative community.
This weekend, The Garden Collective will open an art studio with that value at the forefront—that art is for everyone.
Located on the third floor of Grace Church’s building on State Street in Harrisburg, the studio will provide workspace for the four founding artists: Lou Kirkland, Hanni Sindelar, Gabe Darling and Dre Ceja. More than that, they envision it as a space where other artists like them have a place to create.
“Art is this really beautiful way to bring people together,” Ceja said. “It can be really powerful for the community.”
The group explained that the idea for The Garden Collective came out of a desire to have a space in Harrisburg that is accessible for artists who are often underrepresented in other studios. They’ve seen how things like income, race, sexuality, gender and culture have made it harder for people to access certain spaces. Specifically, they want to highlight Black and brown artists and artists from the LGBTQ community—identities that are represented within the group of founders.
“It’s very important for us to be able to center people within marginalized populations,” Kirkland said. “There really just aren’t that many opportunities for people who look like us and identify like we do.”
Among the four artists are photographers, painters, costume designers, jewelry makers and mixed media artists. With her photography business, You by Lou, Kirkland creates portraits of Black and brown individuals. Ceja specializes in multimedia art through their brand, Studio Con Chile. Darling focuses on photography and zine creation with their brand, Mx. Darling Creations, and Sindelar’s business, Treats Worldwide, specializes in custom clothing designs.
The group plans to offer workshops, gallery shows, vending events and other opportunities for collaboration at their studio. Eventually, they hope to have a permanent gallery and craft corner with materials for artists to use for projects.
According to Darling, the group chose the name, The Garden Collective, as a representation of what they hope to do—plant seeds in the community.
“I want to cultivate community through art,” Darling said. “I feel like we are really able to do that in this space.”
The Garden Collective will hold a grand opening celebration on March 19 at 3 p.m. There will be a ribbon-cutting, followed by a reception with authentic Mexican food, music by DJ She Wolf and local artist vendors. Face masks and vaccination cards or proof of a negative COVID test are required for entry.
Grace Church is located at 216 State St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit The Garden Collective on Instagram or email them at thegardencollectiveHBG@gmail.com.
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
