Much like pumpkin spiced items and Oktoberfest beers slowly popping your local grocery store lately, fall is starting to sneak into the picture. Tuesday, Art by ADEC curator Desirae Kemp bounced around the recently-expanded Bristol gallery replacing summery things with images of pumpkins, foliage and Halloween.
Perhaps in no other manner does ADEC more regularly interact with the community than through its artists. In a typical pandemic-free summer, ADEC would be visible at Elkhart’s Rhapsody in Green arts and music festival, Goshen’s First Fridays and many other community events with an Art by ADEC stand.
Those interactions aren’t happening this year but Art by ADEC is more easily available than ever on a daily basis. The main gallery at ADEC’s Bristol administration building has been expanded down the hallway past the Gaining Grounds Conference Center. Additionally, all the items one would see there and more are available for sale online at ArtByADECInc.com which was launched in July.
In addition to providing the dignity of being able to call themselves a professional artist, clients also directly receive 50-percent of the sale price while the other half goes back into ADEC’s art program to buy supplies. ADEC artists can also be commissioned for specific pieces. This component of social enterprise is one of ADEC’s most popular agency-wide programs and one of its most important.
“I love seeing all of the different types of art that the clients do and what they’re capable of,” Kemp said. “It’s amazing. I like to see the creativity that they have. I love just organizing and sorting through them to present them in ways that will bring out the best of it. Being any part of it is very cool. It’s fun to see what they come up with.
“I worked at Goshen (Shoots day center) before here (Bristol) and I saw them putting art pieces together. For myself, I would need so much help coming up with a creative idea and it would take me a whole day. They’re so creative, it’s amazing. They put out all of their inspiration, creativity and passion into their art pieces. They’re really excited about it which makes me excited to put out the art pieces.”
Kemp has had a front row seat for many pieces of art on both a creativity and sales end in her role as a barista for Gaining Grounds. It is one thing that fuels her while at work.
“It’s fun organizing the gallery, she said. “It helps me to be motivated about it because I know that they get something too. When they come in and look at their own art pieces, they’re like ‘oh my gosh, that one’s mine!’ It’s so exciting to see that because they get so excited to see their work available for everyone to see and even buy. That’s the most rewarding thing – that reaction. Everyone loves the art pieces.”
Those art pieces can not only make your home or office look more seasonal, but they also help make the life of an ADEC client just a little bit brighter.
