The Studio Door has been pivoting since long before the pandemic. It has had to change locations and rethink ways to both present art exhibits as well as spaces for artists to work. But with COVID-19 restrictions changing as cases rise and fall, arts organizations like the Studio Door have to find creative ways to stay operational.
Five years ago Patric Stillman opened The Studio Door in North Park as a place where art and commerce could intersect. But he encountered some setbacks and had to close the business. The Studio Door reopened early in 2019 at its new and current location in Hillcrest on Fourth Avenue. And in 2020, like so many arts organizations, it has had to deal with a pandemic that limits how it can operate as a gallery space and place for artists to work.
"One of the things that I've been doing for the local artists here that have a studio practice is I've been promoting them a lot online. We've been doing video interviews. We've actually walked through the gallery to capture what is going on that people would normally see when they come in," Stillman said. "Maybe for the first time we're doing some online advertising to reach people who might be online and searching for art."
But he said that nearby restaurant closures due to the statewide shut-down and a lack of foot traffic in the neighborhood has impacted the gallery.
"We're allowed to have capacity at 20%," Stillman said. "I wish that we had capacity at 20%. Right now it's a bit of a ghost town."
Stillman said the gallery would not have been able to stay open without assistance from a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan as well as local assistance from the city and San Diego County.
In spite of this year's challenges, he's optimistic about the future. The gallery currently has an affordable art marketplace with small pieces from local artists and other ongoing exhibitions.
"But we're going to move right into January with our regular programming featuring six artists in the main gallery," Stillman said. "The challenge now is to come up with ways that we can do that in person but also online. So we're doing a lot more artists videos, interviews, spotlights on specifics works of art. Actually moving the in the direction of the gallery in ways that we hadn't before. "
