When talk turns to the state of the arts here in Waco, people will often think of the Waco Symphony Orchestra, the Waco Civic Theatre or perhaps mention the desirability of a new performing arts center or an art museum downtown.

Often neglected in taking stock of this or any city’s arts scene is the role played by individual art galleries.

To overlook them or to downplay their significance, however, is to shortchange an active element.

Art museums and art galleries actually fill two very different roles in a local art scene.

At an art gallery you can buy a piece and walk out with it — something frowned upon at museums.

Active places

But that’s only the beginning of the differences.

Despite their often staid reputations, most galleries are active places and in many ways can introduce people to art more effectively than museums.

Waco’s Studio Gallery, which began as a custom frame shop in 1970 but broadened into a complete gallery more than a decade ago, is an active element in our local art scene precisely because it capitalizes on the experiences a gallery can offer.

The owners, Mike and Pat Magid, together with their son Lance, see themselves as nothing less than ambassadors of the arts to the Waco community.

The paintings in which their gallery specializes are mostly traditional in subject and style, and are chosen by the owners from a wide range of artists for their visual appeal. The gallery’s décor is designed to promote comfort and familiarity.

“If we can add an element of pleasure to the community in terms of the visual arts,” said Pat Magid, we’re doing our job. “Art isn’t something that should be remote. It should be enjoyed.”

While museums house and preserve the works of world-famous artists, the formality one usually encounters can work against the visitor — especially a first-timer — feeling close to the art.

Close to the art

In a gallery, the art is more approachable. People can come in, relax, browse and get up close to the art that intrigues them.

Magid said one of her regulars comes in every couple of months not to buy something but just to spend a leisurely hour or so looking at the art on the walls.

Most emblematic, perhaps, of Studio Gallery’s determination to introduce art to more people is their high school art contest.

In 2008, Lance Magid came up with the idea of hosting an art contest for local high school juniors and seniors.

The idea took off and last year students from 17 high schools in the area got involved. Pat says she hopes that eventually every high school in McLennan County will participate.

Art teachers at each school can select up to three pieces to enter into the competition. Before the judging, the gallery devotes most of its space to displaying all the entries.

There’s also a “People’s Choice” award for which anyone dropping in to see the art can cast a ballot. Prizes, in the form of scholarships, range from $250 to $2000.

After the winners are selected, they’re shown throughout town, first at Art Center Waco, and then, in the past, at places like Hillcrest and Providence Hospitals.

The ultimate purpose of the contest, like much the gallery does, is simply to help people love art. The earlier we get them into it, notes Pat, the greater their comfort level will be when they get older.

Like in so many other areas, education is key, and there are few better ways to further an education in the visual arts than to drop by a gallery for a visit.

David A. Smith is a senior lecturer in American history at Baylor University and is a member of the Waco Cultural Arts Festival board of directors. E-mail him at www.davidasmith.net.