BACA Artists Pop-Up In Downtown Branford

Branford Arts & Cultural Alliance Photos.

The sculptures stand at attention, as if they are patiently waiting for a viewer to walk through the doors and stop to look over them. Farther back, oil paintings peek out with images of rough water and huge, wispy clouds. Ceramic dishes with a blue-green glaze soak up sun in the window. Instead of sleek outerwear and internal frame backpacks that once hung on the walls, there is multimedia art in every direction.  

The Branford Arts & Cultural Alliance (BACA) has transformed the shell of a former Denali into a celebration of artists from across the region, with particular emphasis on the Connecticut Shoreline. After an opening reception earlier this month, the pop-up gallery is open through August. Currently, its hours are Wednesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There are 36 artists exhibiting work in the space. Already, several of them have expressed interest in staying on beyond the summer—if the building owner will allow the alliance to do so. 

“This beautiful, accessible, elegant space dignifies the work of the artists,” said B. Joan Hickey, an early booster of the Shoreline Arts Trail and the founding director of the Center for Creative Youth at Wesleyan University. “This is a jewel that artists have given to Branford.”

The collaboration was born last year, after BACA expressed interest in the building’s empty windows at 1004 Main St. as the holidays approached. BACA board member Jeanette Mobeck, a retired speech pathologist and artist, said that she kept thinking about “this large, dark edifice in the center of town.” In a long, dark winter beset  by Covid-19, it seemed even more cavernous than usual. 

Branford Arts & Cultural Alliance Photos.

She loved the idea of brightening it up, just as Macy’s does with its windows in New York City each year. She and BACA members secured permission from Alex Vigliotti, who manages the Main Street property. After a test run in the winter, artists returned to fill the windows in April. Mobeck called the pop-up a welcome extension of that partnership. 

Artists have already sold between 25 and 30 pieces of artwork, including to residents who have seen the space on Main Street and wandered in to get a closer look. A portion of artists’ commission goes to support arts students and teachers in the area, in a “Student Enrichment Fund” that BACA members hope to grow in a fundraiser this September. 

Mobeck said that she remains grateful to Vigliotti, who is only charging for basic utilities while the property remains on the market. Because BACA is entirely volunteer run, the alliance would be unable to stay in the space with higher overhead. Mobeck added that there is interest in making it a sustainable space—several artists have already asked when they might be able to exhibit their work. The Main Street spot marks the first central place where artists have been able to exhibit as a collective.

Melissa Imossi, a painter in Madison who has sold two pieces since the pop-up opened, said that she’s been excited to show her work in a downtown location. While she was initially hesitant to join the gallery—"I came to it late!” she laughed over the phone—she said that a friend convinced her to hop on board after seeing her at another BACA event. She’s glad that she did. After eight years in Connecticut, she’s still getting to know people in the region. 

“It's a great space because it's so large … a one-stop shopping for people who want to buy art,” she said. “Each artist has a sizable space to really show what they do. For a pop-up space, you can't do any better.” 

Hickey, who lives in Guilford, said that she’d like to see BACA artists in the space for at least a year. When she founded Wesleyan’s Center for Creative Youth in the 1970s, she saw in real time how validating it was for students to have their own performance spaces, stages, studios, and galleries. When she walked into the pop-up gallery, she saw a space where artists could feel validated in the same way.

“Think of school students,” she said. “A space of this elegance gives student the chance to love art, and to think ‘I belong here.’”

Now, she is hopeful that the town of Branford will invest in the artists using the space, particularly as it remains vacant. Pointing the the economic impact of an art gallery downtown—particularly when it's replacing an empty storefront—she said that she would like to see support from Branford First Selectman James Cosgrove, as well a longer-term arrangement with Vigliotti in which artists can use the space for a full year. In return, Vigliotti could a charitable tax write off in return. 

“Not only have we done something really great for the community, but I think that we've created a destination site for the state of Connecticut,” Mobeck said. “Some people have told us this is the nicest art gallery they've seen in the state. We’re very proud of it.”

To learn more about BACA, visit them on Facebook or at their website.