Migrant Salon Gallery Brings Art To Sandy Hook's Heart

Migrant Salon opened its doors to the public Friday, but residents who attended the Passport to Sandy Hook event got a sneak peek at the new art gallery gracing a basement space on Church Hill Road between Ronnie's II and Subway -- with a beautiful river view. Owner Allison Hornak, a painter and sculptor herself who holds studio space at the gallery, still can't believe her luck.

"It happened really quickly," she says. A Newtown native, she cut her teeth as an artist at the Montserrat College of Art in Massachusetts. When she returned home, she saw the space and couldn't help herself. A private studio -- the usual purview of a young artist -- is one thing, but a gallery serves as "a critical medium between the artist and everybody else," she says.

"I see it as more important to have a serious gallery in an area that doesn't have a lot of art, rather than Boston or New York," she says.

But Sandy Hook does have its share of artists, including painter Jim Chillington and glass worker Heidrun Morgan. They contributed their work to Migrant Salon's first show, entitled "Purpose," alongside work from Massachusetts-based artists. The show will continue through October.

"I want to kind of do both --  I want to collaborate with local people but not be solely just a gallery that represents Newtown or the local area," she says. "I want to bring people and different projects in from the region, maybe even from the rest of the country."

As a first step -- as she describes it, her "introduction to the community" -- she asked artists to find one piece of work that demonstrates why they do what they do -- what the purpose of their art is. Chillington submitted a painting of Newtown he created on Christmas day, 2012.

"I reached out to people whose work interests me, to work I hadn't seen before," she says. "And I may like the artist and their process and the things they're trying to work out, but the point is it's representative of what the artist feels."

Migrant Salon has the advantage of location. Sandy Hook already feels like an "artsy" area -- which Hornak found out while she was looking for insurance. Her agent told her the village area was known for its artsiness.

"It looks cute," she says. "It has good restaurants, the river, the bridge, and it seems like the place where you're inclined to call it artsy. But there could be more."

In keeping with its "salon" style, the space will host a lot more than art exhibits, Hornak says. She's interested in starting a lecture series, hosting readings and presenting guest speakers. Newtown High School students may visit the space as a learning opportunity.

"I hope, through the visual art shows, to place a strong emphasis on visual critique and ethics," she says. "Because I think there's lots more room for that."