Hundreds of people attended the long anticipated grand opening of the Cura Contemporary art center in downtown Morgan Hill on Nov. 16.
Featuring two floors of exhibition space—currently displaying works from dozens of artists—as well as areas for workshops and demonstrations, a ground floor wine bar and restaurant and a unique modern design, Cura Contemporary is itself a new landmark for downtown Morgan Hill.
The new art center—under the guidance of gallery director Ellie Honl Herman—aims to expand and promote the arts in Morgan Hill and beyond. Formerly known as Colibri Gallery, Cura Contemporary’s new home in the Edes Building is just down the street from the art center’s former home.
At the Nov. 16 grand opening, streams of visitors filed through the spacious Edes Building to take in art exhibits and original works on display. Kids and parents enjoyed hands-on workshops and pottery demonstrations on the second floor. Some visitors paused for a seat on an upstairs balcony that faces Monterey Road, or at a table inside the Vera restaurant (not yet serving customers) located toward the back of the building.
“We had well over 500 people attend the grand opening and it was amazing to see everyone activate the space, especially all the kids! One of our goals is to become an art center that serves Morgan Hill, and having support from our local community is crucial to our success,” Cura Contemporary Communications Director Nicole Czapinksi said.
“We have lots of upcoming programming including monthly rotating exhibitions, free and affordable children’s workshops, a monthly figure drawing collective, and a drop-in craft night. We hope to be a welcoming space (that) people come back to again and again!”
The current Cura Contemporary gallery roster of over 40 artists includes both emerging and mid-career artists whose work has a strong sense of materiality and whose practices embrace process.
Cura Contemporary’s interior design includes a flexible gallery with rotating walls, allowing spaces to be combined or separated for exhibitions, events and workshops. Upcoming workshops include small and large scale oil painting, pastel, watercolor, and printmaking, a monthly figure drawing collective for intermediate to advanced artists, and free and affordable workshops and events for children, according to Cura Contemporary.
The exhibition and workshop space merges with the new wine bar and restaurant on the ground floor, Vera, which is expected to open in the near future.
