Soap Gallery to Offer New Venue for Artists

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Soap Gallery, a new for-profit fine art gallery, will open in October at 117 S. Champion St., in the building formerly occupied by the Purple Cat.

The Soap Gallery’s majority owners are Stephen Poullas and Daniel Rauschenbach; Chris Yambar and Sarra M. Mohn are minority owners of the venture.

“We want Soap to be more than your standard gallery environment. It is our goal to make Soap a multilevel cultural bridge that embraces both the artist and public under one roof. Soap is a fresh push in creating a stronger, more diverse fine arts community in Youngstown,” Poullas said.

“A fresh revival of the arts” is the new gallery’s tagline, the gallery’s proprietors said in a news release Monday announcing their plans.

The 3,100-square-foot gallery will offer space for artists to exhibit work and for the public and collectors to buy art, The space will also feature an eclectic gift shop, pottery room, printmaking, hands-on professional darkroom services and film photography workshops, and even offer portfolio reviews for artists.

“There are quite a few art and culture events Soap will be hosting including poetry night, Art-toberfest, Sip-N-Paints, Meet & Greet artist lectures, and a Soap-a-Palooza Comic Art Festival to name a few. We will also showcase professional local, regional and national art that provokes conversation,” Rauschenbach said.

“Our city has been without an ongoing, stand-alone, for-profit gallery for over 20 years since Banana Rodeo Gallery, which was the first independent artist-run gallery to exist in Youngstown’s history,” Yambar said. “I’m excited to be partnering with Soap and think our community is ready for a focused and exciting gallery experience.”

Additional information will be available at Facebook.com/TheSoapGalleryYo or via email to [email protected] or [email protected].

Pictured: The Soap Gallery will open in downtown Youngstown this October.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.