For years, the artist community in St. Joseph struggled with the frustration of not having a stable, permanent place to display work. That all changed with the opening of Gallery 7.

Gallery 7, 118 N. Seventh St., will celebrate its first anniversary this weekend. The gallery will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and Saturday, with artists demonstrating oil and pastel painting, pottery making and digital photography.

Starting a gallery from scratch, and not exactly knowing what to do, was an experience that presented a few problems.

"Bringing a lot of different people together and a lot of different ideas on how to do it, to bring that all together and have it actually gel, it was a challenge," says committee member Brenda Riley.

"We had many opinions," adds Ida Dell Youngblood. "We agreed and we disagreed, and most of us are still friends."

Riley says Gallery 7 has exceeded her expectations in the past year, especially in terms of bringing new local talent to light.

"I think sometimes people think they have to go out of town to find extreme talent," she says, "when really it's right here, waiting to be appreciated."

However, she thinks there are still ways the gallery could improve. She would like it to have more of a presence in St. Joseph, for it to become one of the first places people think of when they want art.

"I think people tend to go to big boxes when they want to make purchases, and they need to remember to patronize the local arts," she says.

Youngblood says she would like the gallery to offer more activities, such as workshops and demonstrations.

"We just really want more things for more people to participate in," she says. "We're proud of our gallery. We want it to be elegant, but we want it to be friendly and welcoming."