The very last art exhibit at Groop Gallery is on the walls right now at 1127 Third Avenue in downtown Prince George.
The Groop Gallery has been an exhibition and event space since 2009 and co-owner Melanie Desjardines said it’s time to make life a bit simpler by selling the building that includes the gallery and another space that was once a pawn shop.
“It was a hard decision to make,” Desjardines said. “We bought the building that was fully tenanted at the time in 2009 and creating the gallery was my retirement plan. I thought I would do that for 10 or 15 years.”
But it didn’t work out that way.
The downtown area had been thriving at that time with an indoor farmers market and the outdoor market at the courthouse just a stone’s throw away.
“It was a happening place down there,” Desjardines recalled. “There was all these things going on and I had a blast.”
Desjardines worked at Groop Gallery for about four years before it slowed down and now her thinking has changed.
“I’m a grandma, I have two little grandbabies, I have a huge garden, I live out in the country and we still have our sheet-metal business,” she explained.
Desjardines wants to enjoy her semi-retirement moving forward and focus not only on family but her own artwork as an internationally renowned artist.
Joined by the Brush at Groop Gallery will be open Saturdays in March and feature an artist-in-residence from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Artists with works on display include Andrea Fredeen, Lesley white, Pat Gauthier, Fred Paulson, Karma Vance, Laura chandler, Lesley Kuhn, Jeanette Orydzuk, Wendy Stevenson , Rick Mintz, Megan Long, Micheline Snively and Melanie Desjardines.
