Visual Arts Collective ~ VAC Gallery in Downtown Boise Idaho




	Best of Boise 2006 Boise Weekly September 27, 2006 Read the article on the Boise Weekly Website 2006 Arts & Entertainment Readers' Picks Best Art Gallery Flying M Coffeehouse Hang 'em high, hang 'em proud, you've been honored once again as Boise's favorite place to take a gander at art. Sure, we've got galleries all over downtown that are actually listed as such in the phone book (does anyone still use those things?), but we love the java and the comfy couches and family room feel that is Flying M. It's not many places that can wear so many hats so well--cafe, gift shop, art stop, carbo-loading dock. Mmyess, I'll have some coffee with my culture, thank you very much. 500 W. Idaho St., 345-4320 Second Place: The Gallery At Hyde Park Third Place: Visual Arts Collective ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2006 Arts & Entertainment Editors' Picks Best Place to See a Play, an Art Installation and a Concert ... All in the Same Week Visual Arts Collective Do you know what isn't the best of anything? Sentences that begin with "people these days ..." But we're going to go ahead and say it anyway. People these days seem to value multitasking pretty highly. Maybe we're busy, maybe too many video games broke our attention spans, but for some reason, if something's stated function is not a singular but a plural, we like it better. Cell phones are mp3 players, cameras, date books and, yeah, telephones. Our cars are rolling dining rooms. And if anyone in the BW editorial cave ever leaves his or her desk to eat lunch, it's a notable occasion. Visual Arts Collective, still a young art gallery since opening in a former Napa Auto warehouse in the Linen District in September 2005, has taken the idea of a multi-use space and made it cooler than we ever could. Because the space is a former warehouse, VaC is able to find innovative ways to divide, define and reshape its space according to the needs of the event. They've exhibited projects from local artists and groups like Boise Naval Base, Projekt Locqa and BW's own Open Studios reception, but they also play host to various fundraisers, poetry slams, lectures and functions, musical performances ranging from Juxtapercussion to A Taste of Opera Idaho, in addition to serving as the performance home of theater group Spontaneous Productions and playing host to East Indian Follies' last run of contemporary Indian plays. Right now, they're hosting their own event: "Small," their anniversary show. Aw. Happy birthday, VaC! 1419 W. Grove St., 424-8297, www.visualartscollective.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------