Sept. 21 was a special night for Seung Hee Chung, a Syracuse University graduate painting student. She was about to have her first solo exhibit, and if that pressure wasn’t enough, it was on an important night at a unique gallery.

Chung showed her paintings and art video on the premiere night of Syracuse’s city-wide art open, Th3, short for The Third Thursday. Her exhibit premiered at Spark Contemporary Art Space-Syracuse’s only student-run gallery.

The video, Chung’s first, consisted of three animated shorts made from a series of paintings.

‘I thought it was a great opportunity,’ she said.

It was also an opportunity for Spark to become a bigger part of Syracuse’s growing arts community. Spark is one of 15 galleries collaborating on Th3 in an effort to draw new visitors to embrace Syracuse’s artistic side.

‘Until now, we’ve been kind of under the radar,’ said Frank McCauley, a graduate painting student and one of Spark’s four current directors. ‘We’re trying to get away from that.’

Generations of graduate students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts have directed and exhibited at Spark. The gallery gives art students a unique opportunity to share their work outside the classroom, which graduate professors strongly encourage.

Courtney Rile, a Delavan Art Gallery coordinator and frontrunner of Th3 events, said many of Syracuse’s non-profit galleries receive funding and seek out more established artists. As a result, many art students don’t have as much opportunity as they would like in Syracuse.

‘Students felt that they never really had a gallery of their own that they could control and show on an ongoing basis,’ said John Orentlicher, a video art professor in VPA’s transmedia department.

The student-run gallery attracts decent crowds of students to its biweekly art shows, but through Th3, Spark’s directors hope to help artists reach new audiences. Doug Easterly, a computer art professor, said the students’ dedication to the gallery keeps it running well.

‘It’s some of the more vibrant work in Syracuse,’ Easterly said. ‘(It has) that sort of grassroots appeal to it, involved with people who absolutely care about it.’

Spark’s current directors continue to improve the gallery, in regards to both physical space and events. McCauley said while Spark has received donations and occasional grants, nearly a 50 percent increase in rent forced the directors to turn the smallest of its three exhibit rooms into studio space for rent.

Allison Fox, a graduate painting student and one of the gallery’s directors, said the crowd and exhibits were too spread out before the changes.

‘(We’ve) actually made better use of the space,’ Fox said. ‘Now it concentrates the exhibition and the crowds. To me, the openings we’ve had so far have been so much more successful.’

Ongoing events add to the gallery’s success. Spark Video, a regular screening of video art projects, has established itself on an international stage. Music performances began a few years ago, and the directors maintain low entry fees. The first Th3 event went smoothly and successfully, and the next few exhibitions will reflect what Spark has to offer, featuring SU printmakers on Oct. 19 and ceramics on Nov. 16.

McCauley credited the studio space and weekly events for the gallery’s recent success.

‘We’re doing better, from what I hear, than anyone else before,’ he said. ‘So that’s encouraging.’

If you go:

What: The Third Thursday

When: Oct. 19, Nov. 16

Where: Spark Contemporary Art Space, 1005 E. Fayette St.

Published on October 16, 2006 at 12:00 pm