Governor’s Award recipient

After a successful 15-year career as a corporate graphic designer and a year-and-a-half backpacking trek around the world, Steve Gibbs returned to Coeur d’Alene to embark on a journey he never planned to take.

It has culminated with his nomination and selection to receive the 18th Biennial Governor’s Award for Support of the Arts at the Egyptian Theatre in Boise next Saturday. The awards were established in 1970 by the Idaho Commission on the Arts.

Gibbs never intended to be a long-term art gallery owner, but fate stepped in when he met well-known local artist John Thamm in 1994.

“Originally I planned only to pursue my art studies,” Gibbs says. “I saw a sign on a house at Birch and Fourth Streets advertising art instruction, and that is when I met Thamm.”

Thamm owned a small house outside downtown Coeur d’Alene on Sherman Avenue and suggested to Gibbs that he turn the main floor into an art gallery.

Thamm was looking for a place to display and sell his art, and he knew other artists in the same boat. In 1997 Gibbs remodeled the house, designed a logo and opened Art Spirit Gallery.

Those were lean years, as Gibbs admits.

“The gallery was off the beaten path and it took awhile for people to find us,” he says. “Although my stable of artists built very quickly, I was not financially able to take home any money.”

For true artists it never really is about money, and Gibbs exemplifies this philosophy.

“Steve is an artist by vocation and avocation and has made a professional and financial commitment to present the best of regional visual arts to the public,” says Marlo Faulkner, Opera Plus! program director.

Gibbs established a name for himself by featuring high-quality art while fostering the work of local and regional artists during monthly art shows and receptions. The Art Spirit Gallery’s opening receptions became popular community events, providing opportunities to view art, meet the artists, and socialize with friends and neighbors.

In November 2002 Gibbs found himself purchasing and remodeling an old skateboarding hangout at 415 Sherman Ave., mostly because he outgrew his other space. He restored this old brick building to its original elegance – a work of art in and of itself.

The gallery moved to its present location and reopened in April 2003 and continued to focus on a combination of well-established and emerging artists from the Northwest.

Each month, the gallery completely changes exhibits with a new featured artist or invitational show of original work, creating a changing and vibrant art environment.

The featured artist’s work comprises approximately half of the main gallery. The rest of the space contains works of 30 well-known artists, such as Harold Balazs of Mead; George Carlson of Harrison; Don Ealy, Spirit Lake; Mary Farrell, Terry Gieber, Robert Grimes and Mel McCuddin, all of Spokane; and Michael Horswill of Coeur d’Alene,

“Most people are not aware that there are also 500 to 600 pieces of artwork stored in the basement,” Gibbs says.

Opening receptions are held on the second Friday of each month from April through December in conjunction with the Coeur d’Alene downtown Art Walks. Gibbs has also joined with various arts organizations to actively promote art education and develop community awareness and participation in the arts.

“I don’t sleep that week before opening,” Gibbs says. “I easily work a 100-hour week every time we change shows.”

The “Art Spirit” has spread like wildfire in Coeur d’Alene under Gibbs’ direction.

For years he has donated time and talent to design an Art Guide for the downtown galleries. He also initiated a monthly event called Art Walk, which continues to grow and attract visitors from throughout the area. Again, Gibbs has donated talent and countless hours to design marketing pieces that attract visitors.

In 2002 Gibbs was partially responsible for the formation of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber Arts and Culture Committee, which has now evolved into the nonprofit Arts and Culture Alliance.

This is no small feat when you think about coordinating 28 arts organizations of all different disciplines and allowing them to synchronize events, planning and marketing.

Gibbs’ work has not gone unnoticed. This past fall the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce recognized Gibbs both as chairman of the “Committee of the Year” and as the “Chamber Volunteer of the Year.” This dual award is unprecedented and reflects the impact of Gibbs’ work.

“Steve’s volunteer efforts have been paralleled by his personal investment in the arts in our community,” says Jonathan Coe, president and general manager of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber.

Gibbs has been instrumental in obtaining a Leadership for Local Arts Councils grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts, which will partially fund an administrative position for the Alliance, and he has sponsored several arts advocacy speakers for the business community.

In 2000 Gibbs was a recipient of the Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission Support of the Arts Award, and recently he helped the commission facilitate the development of the city’s Master Plan for Public Art.

Several times a year Gibbs hosts an event called Art in the Making, where local artists are invited to draw or sculpt from a live model at an indoor mall, while the public watches.

Gibbs was also instrumental in organizing Art from the Heart, Coeur d’Alene’s fall arts festival, scheduled for Oct. 10 through 15 this year. The five-day festival includes a dance workshop, plays, Art Walk, artwork displays, Art in the Making, a dinner theater, choir performances and the Coeur d’Alene Symphony’s Autumn Classic performance.

Gibbs is quick to acknowledge the dedicated efforts of gallery assistants Janet Torline and Leslie Petersen.

“It is nice to be recognized for all the hard work, but it is not just a solo effort,” says Gibbs.