Gallery 83 owner Brandy Wyckoff sits at the workspace in Gallery 83. She, along with other artists, can work on projects while staffing the Gallery and share more about their art when customers stop.
Gallery 83 is located in the Lazy Pine Mall on Highway 83 in Seeley Lake.
Artists from all over Montana can rent space to display and sell their work in Gallery 83. Painter Kris Gullikson, photographer Carleen Gonder and basket weaver Patti Chamberlin are artists from Seeley Lake that have their work available.
SEELEY LAKE – As of July 20, Gallery 83 is under new ownership. Seeley Lake resident Brandy Wyckoff looks forward to continuing to provide a space for Montana artists to feature and sell their work. She hopes to offer a diversity of art, keeping things fresh and interesting for customers.
Gallery 83 opened this past May in the south end of the Lazy Pine Mall on Highway 83. The new gallery was owned by Chris Larabee and operated by his father Brian.
After selling their home in Seeley Lake, Brian reached out to the participating artists to see if any of them were interested in taking over the gallery. If no one was interested, Gallery 83 would close.
Wyckoff, who had a painting in the gallery, responded to Brian's request. She owns the freelance graphic design business B-design and works from home. This is also her second year as the art teacher at Seeley-Swan High School.
"The gallery is such a great addition to the community. I was definitely interested in keeping it going," said Wyckoff. "It seemed like a fun task to take on."
While Wyckoff has no experience running a gallery, she is an artist and has always appreciated and wanted to support the arts. After moving to Seeley Lake in the summer of 2017, she didn't want to see the community lose the new Gallery 83.
"So far it has been a lot of fun meeting the artists and having people come in. We have a lot of tourists and seasonal homeowners stop in," said Wyckoff. "I love having people appreciate other people's talents."
Wyckoff created a logo that now hangs over the Gallery. Then she rearranged the gallery in a way that she felt made the artwork stand out and provided a good flow.
Currently there are 18 Montana artists featured in Gallery 83 with a unique mix of paintings, photography, metal and wood carvings, woven baskets, pottery and jewelry. Artists lease a section of the wall by the square foot to display their handmade work. The gallery receives a commission from the sales.
There is still space available for Montana artists. Wyckoff likes to feature artwork that is unique, bringing in a variety of handmade and fine art. She avoids artwork that is political in nature or too religious to avoid being offensive.
Wyckoff said the biggest challenge has been Gallery 83's location. Since every other business in the Lazy Pine Mall is closed on the weekend, there isn't the foot traffic like there is downtown. To combat this Wyckoff looks forward to adding more artwork outside to increase the visibility from the highway and make it more interesting.
"I want the front to look really inviting and people to stop and go 'Oh, wow, what is that?'" said Wyckoff.
Gallery 83 has continued to build on its Facebook presence and has even sold some of the art online. Wyckoff hopes to set up a website as an online store to feature the artists and sell their work to continue to broaden the audience.
Once COVID restrictions are lifted, Wyckoff looks forward to hosting Gallery Nights and Meet the Artist events.
Wyckoff said, "I'm excited. It is a great opportunity to feature Montana artists and bring people to Seeley Lake."
Gallery 83 is open Tuesday – Friday from 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Saturdays in the summer. For more information email mtgallery83@gmail.com or visit Gallery 83's Facebook page.
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