When Beverly Burgdorf opened her first studio, it was for her own work. Her newest one is for everyone else.
As owners and operators of Colonial Folk Art Studio & Gallery, Burgdorf and her husband, Davie, will provide a venue for folk and outsider artists, which the owners described as artists without formal training. The studio and gallery will feature an industrial-sized kiln, spinning wheel, work areas and display space for artists.
Davie Burgdorf said the CFA’s focus on southeastern folk and outsider art fills a niche that largely has been overlooked in Williamsburg.
“For many years, folk and outsider art has been neglected in terms of exposure,” he said. “In the last 20 years, it’s been seen and recognized more, especially in the northeast and Pennsylvania with lots of things like scrimshaw and other kinds of folk art.”
The Burgdorfs initially opened CFA in October 2010 in the Williamsburg Antique Mall, but that store differed from the business that will open at 110B Bacon Ave. The original CFA collected and sold antique and rare books, along with selling Beverly Burgdorf’s folk artwork.
Beverly Burgdorf became interested in the genre, which focuses on the artwork of common people and their experiences, during her college years in New York. She said spending time at the American Folk Art Museum in Manhattan introduced her to the stories, works and influences of folk and outsider artists.
Davie Burgdorf said he and his wife had always been interested in opening their own studio for Beverly’s work — a plan the site at the antique mall would not be able to accommodate. With few other options, they began in their own home.
“We kind of kicked the boys out of their mancave in their half of the garage,” Davie Burgdorf said.
The studio would not stay in the garage for long. The Burgdorfs reached out to both the local art community and the City of Williamsburg for advice and found out other local artists had similar problems.
“We sent out email blasts to different local artists asking things like, ‘What can we do? What niche can we fill?’” Davie Burgdorf said. “What came out of that was ‘Studio space.’”
The city’s 2011 creation of the Arts District in Midtown attracted the Burgdorfs to the city rather than James City or York counties.
“The Arts District is new. It’s not an old, established arts district,” Davie Burgdorf said. “It’s getting new artists and business in all the time, and it appealed to us to get in while it’s starting.”
The Burgdorfs will retain their location in the Williamsburg Antique Mall, but Beverly Burgdorf said their main focus would be on the Arts District site.
“Now my goal is to try to find the people that aren’t in the forefront,” she said.
CFA will officially open Aug. 15. A grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 1.
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