Tucked away in downtown East Lansing, surrounded by housing and a comic book store on Albert Avenue, stands Saper Galleries — one of several art galleries downtown aiming to bring art and culture to the city.
Roy Saper, the proprietor of the gallery, started his business in 1978 after graduating from MSU. The 6,000 square-foot gallery exhibits work from 150 artists from more than 15 countries with 1,500 pieces of inventory, meaning there’s something for everyone.
“We pride ourselves in that we have artwork for literally everyone,” Saper said. “There’s not a person who would not come in here and find something they don’t like. And (we’re) affordable — we have a ton of artwork that’s under $100.”
Pieces in the gallery range from oil on canvas and pencil sketches to hand-blown glass and wood construction. Saper contributes his success to all the options of art in the gallery.
“It’s a broad range of imagery,” he said. “We’ve found that the clientele that we have is very supportive of this gallery which is why we’ve been here for nearly four decades.”
With only three people on staff, Saper said he works night and day before exhibitions to ensure they open smoothly. He said it’s worth it, though, to see the community appreciate the artwork.
“We like being, and we are, a community gallery,” he said. “A gallery for the people, for the community. That’s been evidence from the shows we’ve had and the response we’ve had to those exhibitions. Around 7,500 clients and they’re very supportive of the gallery, which is nice. We’re in it for the long haul.”
East Lansing has made an effort to be a community welcoming to art. The city has ordinances requiring large projects to dedicate 25 percent of its funds to art, and frequently hosts art and music festivals throughout the year.
City Manager George Lahanas said another way East Lansing supports the art scene is by collaborating with MSU on (Scene) Metrospace, a gallery downtown.
“We split the operation and the costs,” Lahanas said. “They control the content, and we offer free space and some utilities.”
Still, East Lansing’s art scene faces some challenges. Deb Cholewicki, the gallery manager at Grove Gallery and Studios, said it can be hard to make a mark in the city.
“I think overall, a lot of the community doesn’t really get what arts and culture is and that’s starting to change, which is a good thing,” Cholewicki said. “The other challenge is that we have a huge student population. That’s very transient, people are coming and going. Students don’t typically have a lot of money to come and buy art.”
Saper agreed. He said when he built his gallery in 1986, he thought he would start a trend in downtown.
“We have a dearth of galleries,” Saper said. “When I bought this vacant parcel of land with nothing on it except a path that went through from Division Street to Albert, my belief was that between here and the Marriott, I thought all these buildings would turn into art galleries. I thought we would start something and all these others would come in, but it’s not easy to run an art gallery.”
When Grove Gallery opened eight years ago, it aimed to add to the art scene. Cholewicki said she thinks it has helped.
“I think it’s constantly evolving and growing,” she said. “I think that every year sees more momentum building for the excitement around the arts.”
