When the University of Idaho decided last spring it would close its Prichard Art Gallery space in Moscow, director Roger Rowley said it felt like the gallery was headed for a cliff’s edge.

A little more than a year later, Rowley and the gallery space have come back from that edge.

The Prichard space has been reopened for art exhibitions by the nonprofit Rowley-led Moscow Contemporary. And while the gallery’s future is still somewhat uncertain, Rowley said Moscow Contemporary has every intention of filling the role the Prichard once served.

Rowley said it was during a round of budget cuts that the UI’s College of Art and Architecture was forced to choose between closing one of its departments or shuttering the Prichard space on the corner of Fifth and Main streets. The Prichard has showcased visiting and local artists for 35 years.

Rowley was initially told the Prichard would be closed in July 2020, however the dean of the college pledged to find the money to keep things running through December. That happened, but at the end of last year, Rowley lost his job and the gallery closed. During those months, Rowley said he threw himself into efforts to save the gallery and its relationship with the university.

“Up to September, I still had some optimism that there might be a path forward with the UI,” he said. “It just became clear that this probably wasn’t gonna be an option for the university to find a way to keep funding, so I had begun to think of other strategies that might save it including starting a nonprofit.”

Rowley said he initially tried to preserve some element of the partnership with the UI as the idea of forming a nonprofit began to gain traction but when that became too complicated, he said he decided to lean into becoming a fully independent organization. He said it has since become incorporated, applied for nonprofit status and formed a board that will oversee Moscow Contemporary.

While the UI will no longer play a major part in funding the space, Rowley said it has continued to lend what support it can. For instance, he said the new nonprofit was able to purchase the entire contents of the gallery, including equipment like computers, projectors and the inventory of their small gift shop at a very reasonable rate.

“There is a lot of support -- the university needs us. If they already had another gallery to move into, maybe that wouldn’t be true,” Rowley said. “But as it is, they still need, for their accreditation purposes, for just the enrichment of their art students (and) design students, they need a space that’s going to do the kind of programming that always happened here -- and that’s what we plan to do.”

Rowley said the gallery will continue to aid university programming, including offering the space to masters students and faculty -- at least until a new location for the Prichard opens. The UI is in the process of purchasing the downtown building that is currently home to the Moscow Police Department, with plans of turning it into a new VandalStore and community space as well as the new location of its art gallery, which Rowley said will likely still be called the Prichard.

Rowley said Moscow Contemporary will continue to host roughly five exhibitions a year, including an annual showcase of graduate student art. He said they will also continue to offer educational programs to children and adults.

A large part of the purpose of the space, Rowey said, is to give artists from around the country and the world a place where they can display their art without having to worry about cost. He said not only does the gallery offer its space to artists for free, they also take responsibility for transporting the art to the space and any other logistical needs the artist may have.

“We’re saying if we agree to show your work, we’re taking on the burden of getting your art here, of taking care of all your expenses,” he said. “So all you’ve got to think about, in terms of your income and your business model for what you do, is making art. That’s a relatively rare thing.”

Because Moscow Contemporary has not yet been granted nonprofit status -- it typically takes about 180 days -- Rowley said access to grants is somewhat limited. He said they can raise money through donations and he has faith the community will value and support its newest, oldest art gallery.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. “I think we’ll see a very good response from the community of donations from people that have always supported the gallery. We may even see more now. Now that we’re not part of (the UI) anymore, (donors) know their donation isn’t kind of going up on the hill to hopefully come back here. It comes here, it is for here, it helps us do exactly what we say we’re going to do.”

Jackson can be reached at (208) 883-4636, or by email to sjackson@dnews.com.