Take a little luck, a good friendship, a desire for something new, many months of watching and imagining, and a lot of positive thinking – toss these ingredients together and you get the new Blackbird Gallery, which opened the first weekend in December at 422 First Street. The soft opening was timed with Benicia’s Holiday Open House and tree lighting ceremony, a popular event that made up for the lack of time for promotion.
My good friend Angela White and I founded the Blackbird Gallery out of a shared desire to create an inviting space to celebrate the art that moves and inspires us. We have been looking for the right space for most of the past year and are delighted to have finally found our nest. Blackbird will feature a diverse array of contemporary and traditional fine art, including painting, sculpture, drawing, encaustic, assemblage, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, and more. We invite you to say hello at our Opening Reception on Saturday, January 17, from 4 to 6 pm. Eight artists make up the initial membership, and the gallery intends to grow.
Angela’s family toasting at the opening of Blackbird Gallery.
The blackbird is a symbol of transformation, change, and rebirth, themes that resonate with us. The inspiration for the name was a brainstorming session, one of many, over a glass of wine in the backyard. It was the name that stuck. And no, it wasn’t the song, although that occurred to us later (and to everyone else).
Both locals and tourists know that First Street has a strong community vibe, an obvious friendliness. I feel connected to people even after meeting them for the first time. In opening Blackbird, Angela and I want the gallery’s visitors to feel that kind of immediate connection to the art we display and the artists and others they meet there. Benicia is a city of the arts, and we have an opportunity to add a new buzz to the town’s active artistic and community life.
Located in the former home of Pups and Purrz, the gallery has benefited from a partnership between the new tenants and landlord Rebecca Barnes-Lipman in a makeover that was completed quickly. We want the space to be comfortable and inviting, for artists and art lovers, as well as the doggies and dog owners who have frequented this space for years. Our gallery boasts two comfy chairs and a rug situated next to a bookcase full of art books, a gift from former Benicia artist Pam Dixon. A plate of dog biscuits sits inside the front door. A coffee pot, Saturday morning get-togethers, art critiques, poetry readings, and musical entertainment are also part of the plan.
Angela and I are motivated to attract new artists whose work has not yet been seen locally. Ceramic sculptor and raku master Patty Taylor of Walnut Creek, landscape painter Loretta Boyce of San Ramon, and jewelry artisan Rita Sanchez of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, each fit that description.
Why open a gallery? It’s new, it’s different, and it’s a chance to do it in a way that is unique to us. By providing new opportunities for artists to show their work, we nurture the local art community and contribute to economic growth. We build relationships with our artists and gain networking opportunities with other gallery owners, artists, and collectors. But there are costs, and sales are unpredictable. We also face shifting tastes among a younger generation that needs cultivation to appreciate the arts. Why indeed? That’s where the song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney comes in:
“Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.”
Angela and I have a short history. We met while looking for studio space in the period after the pandemic and now share Studio 24 at 940 Tyler Street in the Benicia Arsenal. We later realized that we are both from Bethesda, Maryland. Pretty much, we’re different in all other ways, which is delightful.
Blackbird Gallery is open Friday through Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. For more information about the member blackbirds and a series of “transformation photos,” please visit blackbirdgallery.net.
