The Contemporary Dayton moves to the Arcade and expands

In 1991, the Dayton Visual Arts Center (DVAC), a nonprofit dedicated to contemporary arts, was established and opened a small gallery in downtown Dayton. Having served the community for decades, DVAC underwent a name change in 2018—to The Contemporary Dayton or The Co for short—which the organization thought better described the mission of the organization: to provide art for the community and a community for artists.

“We were originally established as more of a community center that focused on artists and gave them a place to display their works and get guidance on their portfolios,” says Allison Messer, the director of marketing for The Co for the past two years. “We have evolved into more of an art gallery that produces and presents original exhibitions and programs.”

Now housed in a much larger space in the Dayton Arcade on West Fourth Street, The Co has the staff and the footprint to bring exhibits from artists to Dayton that people can usually only see in much larger cities.

“In conjunction with showing these nationally and internationally known artists, we never forget our Dayton and Ohio based artists,” Messer says.

For the past two years Michael Goodson, who previously served as curator at the Wexner Center for Arts in Columbus, has been curator for The Co. His connections in the art world have helped The Co secure artists and their collections form around the world.

“Most everything we do is about educating our community about contemporary art,” Messer says.

The Co moved into the Arcade in April of 2021 and doubled its gallery size. The organization now has three distinct galleries and a gift shop. Admission is free and open to the public.

“One thing about moving into the Arcade is the new space honors our past while serving as a statement of our future,” Messer says. “We have a beautiful permanent sculpture that pierces through the wall, representing The Co piercing into the future.”

And this future includes introducing the Dayton community to many new artists and types of art, including theater, painting, sculpture, film and video. One gallery is a video room, another is a larger gallery that showcases national and international artists and the last is a smaller gallery for Ohio based artists.

“We usually showcase three different artists at a time, and their work is displayed for two to three months,” Messer says.

The Co continues to rely heavily on sponsors, donors and memberships for funding. A juried show for members and students is held each year, though the 2020 show was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Three new exhibits opened in September, featuring Teju Cole, a photographer from Harvard University; Amy Powell, a Dayton-based photographer; and James Nares, a New York City filmmaker.

“When people come to visit us, they won’t want to miss the CoShop,” Messer says. “It’s a big part of our evolution and growth as a gallery, featuring jewelry from Dayton and Ohio artists, vases, pottery and handmade textiles as well as ceramics, glass arts and limited-edition art prints, all for purchase.”