Chamber celebrates artist with gallery ribbon-cutting
It did not take long following the washout Hurricane Ian unleashed at the new Rachel Pierce Art Gallery on Sanibel before Pierce’s island-bright cheering sign was back up and the artist and businesswoman had reinvented her brand of industry. Pierce has managed to keep her business alive in her gallery parking lot, inviting island businesses and non-profits to her marketplace, but on Oct. 20, she officially reopened her remastered gallery building with a SanCap Chamber ribbon-cutting.
“Rachel has been such a force in this community since she first opened her gallery in January 2022,” chamber President and Chief Executive Officer John Lai said. “It was heartbreaking that her gallery was destroyed so soon after she had restored and redesigned the building’s interior. But the positive spirit reflected in her island-themed, interpretive art prevailed and triumphed. She never left the scene, but we welcome her back to where she started her career as a gallery artist.”
Pierce became involved on the islands as a TV news anchor for NBC2, participating in fundraisers and, as she pivoted her career to full-time art, artist-in-residence for the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Her affinity for the island community helped her decide to open her first gallery on Sanibel — a dream fulfilled for her, her husband and four children.
So, when Ian threatened to crush that dream, the Pierces stood their ground.
“It was never a question for us. We knew we would rebuild, even if we had to do the work ourselves, which we sure did a ton of work ourselves,” she said. “I went from painting canvases to painting walls. A lot of own blood, sweat and tears went into the rebuild, but worth it. This island is worth it.”
The idea of opening a community marketplace outside the gallery evolved from selling her own paintings, jewelry and hand-painted clothing from the front porch. Pierce went to work replacing the art lost to the storm — fortunately she had digital copies — to sell. When she mentioned the idea to other businesses unable to open at first, she immediately heard eight yeses.
The city got behind the idea, and non-profits joined in after she debuted the market on Jan. 2 — the day the Sanibel Causeway opened to general traffic. At the height of its reign through Sep. 18, the market included 17 businesses and nonprofits.
In the meantime, Pierce put her energy to work helping charities like the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, The Sanibel School, refuge and Sanibel-Captiva Kiwanis Club with her art. For the chamber, she designed a special jersey for the Mighty Mussels baseball team to wear on Islands Night in May. The chamber later auctioned them off for charity.
The Rachel Pierce Art Gallery is at 1500 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel.