Galleries Unite To Attract Visitors

In an effort to attract more customers, Harvard Square's are galleries are extending their hours and waging an unprecedented advertising campaign.

Gallery owners say they have coordinated exhibits for the first Thursday of every month in order to raise their visibility within the Square.

The campaign, called "Gallery Night," will have the galleries opening longer, from 4 to 9 p.m. The owners kicked off the project this week.

The artists and dealers hope that Cantabrigians discover there is more than "crass commercial venues" in the Square, said Alex Stevens of the Open Gallery on Mt. Auburn St.

Galleries in the Square suffer from lack of exposure also because they are overshadowed by Harvard's renown museums and hipper Newbury St. galleries, artists said.

"We feel we have an image problem," said Peggy Fox of the Stubbins Gallery on Church St.

Pamphlets titled "Circle the Square," which contain the location of area galleries, are being distributed at the Information Booth at the T-stop.

In the past, galleries must rely on word-of-mouth advertising to lure art connoisseurs from Harvard's Fogg or Sackler Museums, artists said.