This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Gourgaud Gallery Offers Much For Those Who Look Closer

Art showcase in Cranbury features new artists, events, and a European accent.

Day Tripping is about more than just heading out to big, bustling areas to check out massive, high-profile events and exhibitions. Sometimes it is good to calm down and check out a location where everything is right within walking distance, where you can stroll around in late autumn [or, as the case may soon be, a surprisingly warm winter].

If that sounds appealing, Amy Amico believes she has just the sort of place you’re looking for.

This December, she said, the Gourgaud Gallery in Cranbury Township will bring back its annual exhibit, "Cranbury Gardens." It will feature the 'plein air' [French for ‘in the open air’] series, "Work from Art in the Park."

Find out what's happening in Bridgewaterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A reception for the December exhibit will be on Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m., and many of the artists will attend and speak to visitors about their work, she said.

Amico, chair for the gallery and president of the Cranbury Arts Council, takes pride in the history that comes with the gallery, both in recent time and farther back.

Find out what's happening in Bridgewaterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“It was the only municipally-operated art gallery in the state for a time, until seven years ago, when it became a part of the Cranbury Arts Council, which leases the space from Cranbury Township and has taken over the gallery, and organizes a different exhibit every month," she said.

The gallery is booked into 2013 with only two months available for artists or groups to exhibit, she said. Artists can apply by going to the website to obtain instructions and applications, or pick up the forms in the gallery itself.

The Gourgaud Gallery is located in Cranbury Town Hall, 23-A N. Main St. in Cranbury and is open and free to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's also open the first, third and last Sunday of the month from 1 to p.m., except during holiday weekends.

So if the crowds, mall wanderers, shopping zombies and claustrophobia are getting to you, Gourgaud Gallery and the surrounding Main Street may make for a nice break. That's why we've picked it for this installment of Day Tripper, a weekly look at destinations that are out of town, but in reach, and worth the trip.

DAY TRIPPER DIGEST

Estimated Travel Time: About 45 minutes

Why it’s Worth the Trip:  All this hectic holiday horsing around is getting on your nerves a little, isn’t it? The antidote is a relaxing walk down a picture-postcard avenue, warm muffin in one hand, hot coffee in the other, and a space waiting for you at the Gourgaud Gallery.

How to Get There from Here: Detailed driving directions from the municipal complex on Commons Way

You’ll Probably Get Hungry: Have your meal at the historic Cranbury Inn which was established in the mid-1700s, have a very civilized afternoon tea at The Blue Rooster Bakery, sit for a spell at Teddy’s Luncheonette or have a treat at Cranbury Delights

While You’re in the Area: Take a look at the past goings-on for this town at the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society, grab a read at Cranbury Bookworm or find a treasure David Wells Antiques. If you still have holiday shopping to do, Main Street runs parallel to Highway 130 which, when heading southbound, takes you to several big box stores and chain restaurants [but wouldn’t you rather hang out awhile in Cranbury instead?].

Amico said there are events planned specifically for December.

“The Cranbury Arts Council is an all-volunteer non profit organization with a mission to promote and support the arts in the community and offers, in addition to the gallery, participation in many local organization events, like free ornament painting during the Cranbury Lions Club Pancake Breakfast coming up,”  she said.

The gallery offers art workshops once a month from January through April, and hosts a “plein air” art series from May to October, which takes place at several locations so artists can meet, get together and paint in the open air.

“The workshops are reasonably priced and attending the plein air series is free,” Amico said.

The emphasis for the European accent comes directly from Gourgaud Gallery’s history. The Eva Gebhart-Gourgaud Foundation was begun by the Baroness Gourgaud in 1947, and contributed to more than 700 historic preservation projects throughout New Jersey, New York and New England.

Landmarks Preservation, the Cranbury non-profit organization that spearheaded action to save the town’s Old School [now the Town Hall] from demolition, saw great potential in the building as more than simply a preserved structure. In 1972, it sought and received a grant from the Gourgaud Foundation to make the purchase of the Old School and bring it back to life.

In 1973, the foundation awarded an $11,000 grant to Cranbury Landmarks to provide a room in the building dedicated strictly to the arts. This was to be a permanent contingency, and in 1976 the Gourgaud Gallery was opened in earnest.

The Gourgaud Gallery has an all-volunteer 10-person committee that meets each month to review submissions and organize the exhibits and the receptions for each monthly show, as well as plan future programs that are offered through the gallery.

The history of the gallery can be found on the Cranbury Arts Council's website, cranburyartscouncil.org.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?