VERONICA PENOYER
Staff Writer
May 8 will be an eventful day for local artists with the opening of the gallery, Zattu Local Color Gallery.
It started with Enactus, a Fredonia international entrepreneurial non-profit organization, broadening its client intel by consulting with the owner of Zattu Local Color Gallery, Joe Sorci.
Sorci, a Fredonia high school alumni, is returning home from Nashville, Tennessee, where he worked as a professional artist for 30 years. In his 50s, Sorci has decided to return and start a new venture of opening a gallery.
Sorci’s goal is to improve the community and create a place where people can be distinguished and recognized from other art galleries. Though he has no local competitors, a constant challenge will be to find artists to display their work.
Unlike other art galleries whose artists don’t have to pay to display their work, Zattu Local Color Gallery will require artists to pay. At first this may seem like a negative aspect; however, it provides the gallery with more space for individual artists to showcase their work without having the overwhelming feeling of overcrowding. Each artist will have his or her designated wall space and is able to design the space as he or she sees fit.
In an attempt to connect with students at the University, Sorci is allowing seniors to showcase their work as a senior showcase.
At each showing there will be a featured artist. At the grand opening, Sorci will be that artist. With steel work as a previous profession, Sorci is primarily a sculptor and painter. He will be showcasing his high end art of sculptures alongside some senior art.
Located on East Main Street, the Zattu Local Color Gallery building is refurbished and redesigned. It has been restored from its original features of an old train station to a gallery, while still keeping the historical value.
“Sorci wants the gallery to be an economic development, not just for the community and himself, but also for artists that don’t have to go to Art Loft, which is a smaller space,” said Tamiko Orasio, a senior business administration major. “He doesn’t necessarily want to compete with them but connect with them.”
Despite the uniqueness of having an innovative building, the gallery also has a special name — Zattu. A resident of Fredonia, Zattu Cushing, received numerous medals for his actions and participations in the Civil War. As the first man to permanently settle on the waters of Canadaway Creek, Zattu provided the beginning of what is now Fredonia, as well as others. His family now has a monument in town dedicated to Alonzo Cushing and his brother, William, both grandchildren of Cushing. Sorci wants to be known for preserving the culture and providing more to the community, and Zattu is important to that vision.
The gallery opens May 8 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. As the gallery finishes construction, the Zattu Local Color Gallery Facebook page will present some art pieces that should be expected to appear at the gallery opening.