Mary Gillis has a vision for Downtown
Williamston: to be a hub for working artists in the Lansing area. And Gillis knows what it takes to create an art scene. After living and working in New York for several years, the Detroit-born artist moved to East Lansing with her
husband and began looking for the right place to set up shop.
“I discovered Williamston to be a very cool little downtown area, and there are some great old buildings,” says Gillis. “It seems to be on the verge of really developing in a good way, while keeping its charm.”
About a year ago Gillis, 58, began her painting and sculpture work in a 500 square foot space on the second floor of Keller’s Plaza. Since discovering the ideal workspace, Gillis attracted other six artists to the location, which could house up to four more. This month she’s expanding her footprint by another 500 square feet to include a gallery of her work.
“Until now I’ve been working in quiet,” she says. “Now that I’ve expanded to include the gallery space, I want people to know I am here.”
Gillis has temporarily leased two additional suits to showcase a retrospective of her work that has been in storage for some time.
In addition to seeing Gillis’ work during her gallery hours, which will be by appointment and on the first Saturday of each month from 11am-4pm, a suite of her paintings may be seen in the new Accident Fund headquarters.
Source: Mary Gillis, Artist
Writer: Natalie Burg, News Editor
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