Hardy Gallery Executive Director Sarah Zamecnik says maintaining operations during the COVID-19 pandemic has the site more concerned than potential flooding. The Anderson Dock in Ephraim and its tenant, the Hardy Gallery, rises just above the bay, threatened by record high water levels. It just wrapped up a half-season, finishing about a month early compared to a typical year after starting up in July. A fifteen week slate from May to October is standard. The gallery was closed on Tuesday and Thursday, a marked difference from the regular seven-day-a-week schedule. Zamecnik says she thinks the reduced hours (noon to 5:00 PM) worked well, which may become a staple in the future. Zamecnik says the organization was able to keep patrons safely distanced from each other while filling the public’s “need for something to do.”
During the offseason, the gallery is empty. Gone are the pieces displayed from the juried show and the organization's collection, reducing the effects of potential flooding. Zamecnik says that high water acts as a draw. It brings people down to the dock, and the graffiti on the outside of the structure lures them inside. Zamecnik says that even in a tense election year, very few messages are political, and none have been vulgar as far as she has noticed. She concedes the Village of Ephraim would probably prefer just a signature with a brush and paint, but the spray can tradition has taken hold instead.
