Downtown Business Cultivates Arts Community in Dexter

About 3 1/2 years ago, resident Mary Bowe, along with her husband and sister-in-law, bought a business in downtown Dexter that they turned into the The family already owned a frame business in Saline and saw potential for growth and interest in art in Dexter as well.

"This is a great location," Bowe said. "There is an enormous basement here where we can do our cutting and framing, and there is an extra room, which is natural for gallery space."

That space is called the Side Door Gallery, and local artists have been displaying and selling work there for the past few years.

"I know a lot of local artists and appreciate how they work," Bowe said. "The art I show is the art I like. I'm invested in it."

Artists such as Betsy Emrich of Dexter Township have been able to show and sell their work to the public, thanks to Bowe and the Side Door Gallery. Emrich creates abstract mixed media paintings and jewelry.

"Mary really knows a lot of people in the community and is really good about making connections," Emrich said. "The Dexter art community is growing, and we all know each other's work and support each other."

Bowe describes her business as a destination for people from Dexter, Chelsea and Ann Arbor. In addition to artwork, the frame company sells glass, easels and frames. Also for sale are greeting cards and postcards, many created by Dexter photographer Jill Love, who approached Bowe with several other local artists when the Dexter Picture Frame Co. first opened.

"Mary and her husband are are well-known for being a foundation block in building a growing arts community in Saline, and they've turned around and repeated this essential need in the growing arts community in Dexter," Love said. "They are great people who give back to the community generously in many ways."

The Circle of Art benefit for Food Gatherers, a nonprofit organization that helps distribute food to hungry families in the county, is another example of how Bowe and her business have given back to the community.

For the past six years, artists from the region have donated small works of art, and the Picture Frame Co. mats them all and hosts a party. The money raised is donated to Food Gatherers. Last year, the event raised $18,000.

"Art becomes food, and it feels like we're doing something good with our money," Bowe said.

For more information about the Dexter Picture Frame Co., the Side Door Gallery and the Circle of Art, visit dexterpictureframe.com.