BRONZEVILLE CREATIVE COUPLE ARE ALSO CHANGEMAKERS

Andre and Frances Guichard are artists and co-owners of Gallery Guichard Bronzeville Artists Lofts, located 436 E. 47th St. Photo provided by Lydia Eady
Andre and Frances Guichard are artists and co-owners of Gallery Guichard Bronzeville Artists Lofts, located 436 E. 47th St. Photo provided by Lydia Eady

 Bronzeville Creative couple are also changemakers

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Andre and Frances Guichard are co-owners of Gallery Guichard and
Bronzeville Artists Lofts in Bronzville. They host the Mayor of Bronzeville
and First Lady Ball each year. Frances Guichard has been painting for 17 years. Andre Guichard grew up in a house with a painter and sculptor and started creating art himself. He has been an artist for 23 years. They have co-owned Gallery Guichard for 16 years. Collaboration has been a big part of the Guichards success and their journey.

The 5th Annual Mayor of Bronzeville and First Lady Ball took place on Saturday, July 24, at Gallery Guichard, located at 436 E. 47th St. Damon Williams was the co-host, there was food by Lettuce Entertain You Chef Mychael Bonner. The event featured live art demonstrations and live entertainment.

The Luv Institute, located at 4659 S. Cottage Grove, was the 2021 Mayor and First Lady of Bronzeville grant awardee. The Guichards and the committee chose that organization because of its work with young people who need support. The Luv Institute mentors them and provide entrepreneurial opportunities. Previous grant awardees include XS Tennis, Equality Should Be Normal, Friends of Bronzeville and Young Women’s Leadership Charter School. So far, $30,000 has been donated to organizations. “We have to be people who are up to the task of working and collaborating, then giving back, so our youth can see, and they can have something to be aspire to,” Frances Guichard said.

Andre believes that giving is contagious. Throughout the years, he gets excited to give to those organizations and meet the people making the change. Donating to these organizations also is a way us to bring awareness to those organizations.

The first Mayor of Bronzeville owned the Palm Tavern, which is where the Gallery Guichard Great Migration Sculpture Garden is located today. The Bronzeville Artists Lofts are located at the site of the Ben Franklin Department Store, the first African American Department Store in Bronzeville.

“That is very significant as we walk on this sacred ground and really understand the legacy of our neighborhood. I think that history is so significant because, if you just start thinking culturally, 80 years of art movements in the same neighborhood especially entrepreneurially. We’re
celebrating the greatness of our community and the greatness that this community still holds and part of that is knowing who we are,” said Andre Guichard.

Frances always had a romantic feeling about Bronzeville. Her mother would regale her with stories of Bronzeville in its heyday, similar to Harlem in its prime.

“We still need to just figure out how to come to our communities, live in our
communities and grow in our communities, because we have talent that is
amazing and that can really change the dynamics of where we live,” Frances said.

The Bronzeville Art District Art Tour is in its 15th year. This year, the event is virtual and an in-person event and takes place the third Friday of each month. Each participating gallery, Blanc Gallery, Faie African Art, Bronzeville Artists Lofts, Gallery Guichard and South Side Community Art Center, created an online exhibition which was aired on Zoom and
Facebook Live. Creating the virtual exhibitions allowed those galleries to expand its reach out into the world. The next Art Tour is Friday, Aug. 16.

During COVID-19, Gallery Guichard implemented a way to do exhibitions
virtually, merging existing technology to create a virtual exhibition catalog. There are 15 virtual catalogs that allow people to hear a two-minute overview about the show and it drops you into the exhibit virtually. It has changed the Guichards business overnight. It allowed Gallery Guichard to reach people nationally and internationally.

For more information on Gallery Guichard, visit www.galleryguichard.
com. For more information about the Bronzeville Art District Art Tour, visit
www.bronzevilleartdistrict.com.

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