Gallery 7 May Leave Joliet For Plainfield, Lockport

JOLIET, IL - Gallery Seven has showcased Joliet's most talented artists including painters, photographers, jewelers and sculptors for a decade, but it now has a dismal future thanks to Olivieri Real Estate LLC. That's the current property manager for the multi-tenant professional office building next to the historic Rialto Square Theatre in the 100 block of North Chicago Street. Olivieri recently notified Gallery Seven that their artwork must be out of the building by December 11. Olivieri is now trying to rent the soon-to-be vacated space for about $10,000 per month, according to Gallery Seven.

Gallery Seven has been in downtown Joliet since 2007. The all-volunteer artist coalition worked out a rent-free agreement with Rialto officials and the city of Joliet in 2008 and has remained here ever since.

"The Rialto had been our sponsor and our host. Unfortunately, the people who set this (lease) up are all gone," Gallery Seven president Richard Ainsworth told Joliet Patch on Wednesday afternoon.

Still, inquiring minds want to know whether Gallery Seven will remain in existence and, if so, will it stay in Joliet? (For more information on this and other Joliet Patch neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive free daily newsletters and free breaking news alerts.)

"Right now, we don't know what we are going to do," Ainsworth answered. "We've had a lot of feedback, people telling us there's some options and asking what can they do?"

Ainsworth said he has never met the folks who run Olivieri Real Estate. "From their point of view, we're freeloaders," Ainsworth said. "They really made no effort to come and see what we do."

At the moment, this building houses several law firms, including the Tomczak Law Group, who will be leaving. Attorney Jeff Tomczak has purchased the former Liebermann's Jewelers building on North Ottawa Street near the Will County Courthouse and plans to move into that property once it's renovated in early 2018. Read this Patch article for more details about Tomczak Law Group's pending move.

Ainsworth implored Mayor Bob O'Dekirk and the Joliet City Council to step up to the plate and take a vested interest in Gallery Seven. Gallery Seven consists of about 10 professional artists who run the gallery on an all-volunteer basis Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the first Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon as well as by appointment.

Right now, Gallery Seven utilizes about 5,000 square feet of building space for the viewing public.

"One of the drawbacks of being downtown is, parking is a big one," Ainsworth said. "We've had suggestions to move to Lockport or to Plainfield. We're looking for a sponsor and a host. We need something soon."

In recent weeks, Joliet's City Council has approved about $2 million in public funds to improve and renovate the downtown Joliet Slammers minor league baseball stadium to make the city sports facility into a year-round multi-purpose venue and destination.

"I think the city should sponsor this," Ainsworth said of Gallery Seven. "If the city is sponsoring a ballpark, they should sponsor the arts, too. We've been very community-minded over the years. We have job-shadows, student-mentoring in the high schools and colleges. We collaborate with a lot of local groups. And I think we've been very generous in donating our artwork to fund-raising."

Photos via Joliet Patch Editor John Ferak