Caroline Hunton
Communicator

The Lorinda Knight gallery specializes in bringing Northwest artists, including SFCC’s own instructor Bernadette Vielbig, together in one place.

Located in the heart of Downtown Spokane for twelve years, the gallery shows work from artists from Spokane and around the Inland Empire. Displayed free to the public, there are works in all mediums such as painting, ceramics, photography and drawing as well as sculpture and original prints.

“There is a need for a place to exhibit exciting new work by local and regional artists,” Lorinda Knight, the owner and director of the gallery, said.

“This area has many good artists who continue to explore new ideas,” she said, “it’s really essential to come in and see the art in person as often as possible.

“New experiences help to generate even more good ideas.”

The gallery is located in the Davenport District, a burgeoning scene for local artists. Knight, who appreciates all types of art, was inspired to open a gallery of her own after exploring many galleries around the world, seeing a void in Spokane.

“In 1992 I read a short paragraph in the Spokesman- Review that said a contemporary gallery that would be ‘in it for the long haul’ was needed in Spokane,” she said, “I just thought, that’s what I want to do next.”

Since it opened in 1996, the gallery has expanded to two floors. The first floor includes work that changes monthly and the second shows the work of the forty artists who are represented by the gallery. All exhibits are planned over a year in advance, so openings are scarce. The gallery thinks it’s important to show quality art, regardless of monetary gain.

“We show art that we think is good even if we don’t know if it will be popular in terms of sales,” Knight said, “Amazingly enough, this approach has worked for almost 12 years.”

The gallery’s main focus is to bring art to the people of Spokane for over a decade. The gallery participates in First Friday, where local galleries open their doors to the public for free the first Friday of each month. This is a very popular event because the public can see many different kinds of art.

The gallery is located at 523 W. Sprague Ave. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

You can contact the writer at staffwriter@spokanefalls.edu