Gadsden's Gallery Week Happens on a Tuesday Morning

Which day would you pick if you wanted to see all three of Gadsden's public art spaces in one outing? On a Saturday, one of the three is usually closed, and the shared open window at the other two lasts about three hours. The best day is a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., minus a lunch hour.

That matters more this month than usual. On Thursday, October 8, Gallery at 808 celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting, according to the Gadsden Messenger. Owner and artist Nanda Patel had already been showing and selling work at 808 S. 4th St. since March 2024, when the Gadsden Times covered the gallery's opening. The October celebration put the space in front of more people. Like the other two venues, it keeps its own hours.

Three venues, three different clocks

Here are the posted hours, side by side:

You can check them yourself on the Gallery at 808 visit page, the Gadsden Museum of Art visit page and the Hardin Center's about page. Hours change, so it's worth a quick look before you head out.

The overlap is narrow, and it falls midweek

Line up those hours and the times when all three doors are open are easy to count.

• Tuesday through Thursday: all three are open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., then again from 2 to 4 p.m. The 1 p.m. gap is the Hardin Center's lunch closure, and 4 p.m. is when Gallery at 808 closes.
• Friday: all three are open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. At 1 p.m., Gallery at 808 and the Hardin Center both close. Only the museum stays open into the afternoon.
• Monday: the museum's posted hours don't include Mondays, so you can see two of the three.
• Saturday: Gallery at 808 has no regular Saturday hours. The museum and the Hardin Center overlap from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 3 p.m.
• Sunday: none of the three lists Sunday hours. The Hardin Center states it is closed Sundays.

That adds up to about 18 hours a week when all three are open together, all of it between Tuesday morning and Friday lunch. Saturday gives you three hours with two of the three venues. That's why the best gallery day in Gadsden is a weekday. If you work from home, have a flexible lunch hour, or are retired, you get the whole set. A weekend-only visitor gets most of it, but not all.

What's on the walls this fall

The schedule matters because each room is showing something different right now.

Gallery at 808 displays work by local artists, and visitors can buy it on the spot. At the October 8 opening, the Messenger reported prices from $1,500 down to as little as $10, with ceramic pottery alongside acrylic and oil paintings. The artists featured that night included Patel, Craig Reynolds, Lynnette Hesser, Steve Loucks, Syndee Isbell and William Darby. Each one brings something different:

• Nanda Patel makes mixed-media collage that blends cultural textiles and symbols, exploring spirituality, migration and identity. Her gallery biography says she was raised across four continents.
• Steve Loucks is a full-time studio potter who taught ceramics at Jacksonville State University for more than 26 years, according to the gallery's profile of him and Hesser.
• Lynnette Hesser is a full-time ceramic artist who has lived in Alabama since 1987 and has taught at Jacksonville State and Gadsden State, per her artist bio.
• Craig Reynolds paints mostly from life, focusing on outdoor scenes, weathered farms and historic harbors.
• Syndee Isbell started making mosaic stained-glass pieces in 2003 and later returned to stained glass, windows included, using her wine shop as a studio.
• William Darby paints mainly in acrylic.

Downtown Gadsden's member listing says the gallery holds roughly 60 pieces, offers complimentary coffee, and has ample parking and an accessible entrance. It's about five minutes from I-759 and Broad Street.

The Gadsden Museum of Art opened three exhibitions on October 2: Dan Tipton's "Connection," Wesley Bishop's "A Gentle Gravity: Fat Bodies Suspended in Color," and Valencia Ragan's "A Muse for the Creative Artist." The museum's events page lists opening dates but not closing dates. If one of these shows is the reason for your visit, call ahead.

The Hardin Center gallery is showing Sheila Lanham from September 18 through December 31, 2026, with free admission, according to its exhibits page. Of the three venues, this show has the longest posted run. If November and December fill up, the Hardin Center is the one stop you can safely save for later.

Saturday has one exception, and it requires registration

The only regular reason to be at Gallery at 808 on a Saturday is its monthly class. According to the gallery's classroom page, Nanda Patel leads a Saturday class each month, usually from 9:30 a.m. to noon. It costs $35 per person, supplies included. Projects and dates change from month to month, and details and registration are posted on the gallery's Facebook page.

That class can turn a two-venue Saturday into a three-venue one. A class that ends at noon leaves time to reach the museum, which opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m., and the Hardin Center, which reopens at 2 p.m. after its lunch closure. The class happens once a month, though, so check the date before you plan a Saturday around it.

The gallery also books visits, group visits, private events and classes by appointment. You can reach it at (205) 919-4780 or [email protected], as listed by Greater Gadsden tourism. Its event space page mentions receptions, meetings, celebrations and small gatherings, and asks people to get in touch about availability. It doesn't list rates. If none of the posted hours fit your week, an appointment is the way around them.

November adds two dates that change the plan

The weekday pattern holds into November, with two additions.

Monday, November 2. Imagination Place at the Hardin Center opens "Let it Snow," which runs through February 27, 2027. It's included with all-day admission: $8 per person for adults and children, free for children under 24 months and Hardin Center members, and $2 per person for up to six people with EBT, SNAP or WIC, per the Hardin Center's Let it Snow page. The gallery stays free, but from November 2 on, a family visit to the building may mean paying for Imagination Place too.

Friday, November 6, 5 to 7 p.m. The Gadsden Museum of Art holds its next round of openings: Sloss Furnace Metal Arts' "Flame to Form," Sarah Marshall's "Prickly Pairs," Julie Ward's "Working Vessels," Miriam McDonald's "Eclectic By Nature," and an exhibit by Mary Ann Sampson with the title still listed as "TBA." It's one of two evening openings the museum lists before the end of the year. The other is The Arthouse Group's "Light and Shadow" on Thursday, December 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. By 5 p.m. on a Friday, Gallery at 808 and the Hardin Center have been closed for four hours, so after-work visitors can see the museum's newest shows that night but will need another day for the other two rooms.

A route that fits the overlap

On a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, this order follows the hours:

1. Start at Gallery at 808 at 10 a.m. It opened at 9, so you won't be the first visitor of the day, and you'll have time for coffee and the pottery before heading out.
2. Go to the Hardin Center before 1 p.m. to see Sheila Lanham's show before the lunch closure.
3. Have lunch from 1 to 2 p.m. while the Hardin Center is closed.
4. Finish at the Gadsden Museum of Art in the afternoon. It stays open until 5, later than either of the others, so it's the stop that can take a long lunch without cutting your visit short.

On a Friday, the same route has to be done by 1 p.m. for the first two stops. The museum is the only one still open in the afternoon.

If you're putting together a Gadsden outing for visiting family or planning a weekday off around the October 2 shows, I'm glad to share what I know about this part of town. Reach out to Rachel Hicks and let's connect.