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In 2016, Hayley Sykes, like many people, had never heard of Hume, and launching an art studio in a small rural town was not something she imagined doing.
She and her husband, Brett Ludden, were living in Alexandria at the time. When a couple of friends invited them to their home in the Fauquier countryside, the evening took a surprise turn.
“They told us they were moving to Switzerland, and they wanted us to buy the house because they thought we’d do a good job of maintaining all the hard work they’d put into it,” Sykes said. “We loved the village and the community, so we cobbled everything together and came to an agreement.”
Two years later, they purchased another property across the street with a garage, circa 1920, attached to a small cottage that would eventually become Dwell Fine Art & Craft. It was a concept Sykes tested in 2018 with storefronts in Little Washington and then The Plains, but which is attracting more visitors in the tiny enclave of Hume than both previous locations combined.
Now parked in the renovated garage, the gallery offers exhibitions, receptions, classes and workshops as well as art appraisals, valuation and consulting.
“We wanted to be thoughtful about the renovation, so it was still in line with the historic nature of the village but that the community would also get enjoyment from it,” Sykes said. “An elderly farmer drove up to us as we were doing the finishing touches (on the renovation) and thanked us and said how much he’d enjoyed seeing it done and how he used to love going to the store, which is now the cottage, for snacks as a kid.”
Sykes, 47, wants locals and tourists to show up however they are, without pressure or pretense.
“People are welcome to come in to look at the art,” she said, “to engage with it on their own terms, and if they just want to bring a book and sit on a chair or bench and relax, then they can.”
Sykes, who retains a distinct British pronunciation, grew up in a working-class family in Yorkshire, England.
“We weren’t an artsy family, and there was no art on the walls in my house,” she said. “I’d never been taken to museums as a kid, but I’ve always gravitated to what I believe to be beautiful things and believe that they enhance your life.”
After studying art and design in the United Kingdom, Sykes moved to the United States in 2006. She enrolled in Virginia Commonwealth University and earned an art history degree. But she often felt out of place.
“I felt like I was on the wrong level of a department store, out of my league,” she said. “I felt a little unwelcome, and that’s a reason I opened the gallery … because I wanted people to feel like art is for everybody. I’m looking for ways to help some people engage who don’t usually feel comfortable going into a gallery and looking.”
As she continues to expand the gallery’s offerings, Sykes hopes to work with nonprofits, including those serving people in lower income areas and places where access to art is rare.
“I’d like to offer a window into what it’s like to work in the arts,” she said.
The people who buy art at Dwell come for different reasons, and they aren’t always those who are thought of as collectors.
“I had a photography exhibit by Tara Jelenic of Warrenton, and a gentleman came who said he’d never been in an art gallery, but his wife had really respected Tara,” Sykes said. “He bought a piece in memory of his wife, and he let me go to his house and help him hang it. So much work goes into an exhibit, and they’re all special in their own way, but it’s the individual reactions people have when they come in that speak to me more than anything else.”
Sykes’ vision for Dwell includes supporting other small businesses. She’s held pop-up events with Artemisia Farm & Vineyard, which offers a year-round CSA and botanical wines and bitters, and this year she’ll be hosting an event with an ecological florist who specializes in design with native plants.
“The gallery is finally in position in 2024 to offer all of the services and opportunities that I’ve wanted to have,” Sykes said. “We’re still going to have rotating exhibits. We are continually adding national and international artists to the roster. I’ve been able to add some more local crafts and arts people. Of course I want (the community) to buy the art, but I also want them to feel like they can come in and just enjoy it.”
Once a month, from February through December, the gallery hosts receptions associated with the exhibits, open to the public.
“I’ve made a massive attempt this year to expand the footprint of three-dimensional art and craft,” said Sykes, who heavily represents local and regional talent. “There are some wonderful ceramicists, woodworkers and painters.”
Despite her location in prime hunt country, Sykes isn’t an equestrian, and hunting scenes or traditional subjects like portraits don’t play a role in her lineup. Instead, she has broad taste, enjoying representational or abstract pieces, and the styles found in the gallery typically range from impressionistic to abstract.
And the community has responded with support that has inspired Sykes.
“The opening (in September of 2022) absolutely blew my mind,” she said. “I was freaking out the night before that no one would show up, and it was so busy that there was a fender bender in the parking lot. I ran out of all food and drinks; there wasn’t even ice left. I got a little emotional because I felt like all these people were going out of their way to come here and support this gallery in middle of nowhere, and I had not remotely anticipated that in any way, shape or form.”
For tourists, the journey to an art gallery in a rural village without a gas station or stoplight is quite unlike the experience in an urban space.
“They drive through the countryside and can stop at places like The Red Truck or The Whole Ox,” both in Marshall, Sykes said. “Even though we drained our savings to renovate, we’re not paying the nauseating rents you’d see in the city. We love the area and felt like it was underserved for the type of art and craft I show. We felt like it was an opportunity.”
For Sykes, art is home, and the concept of the name Dwell, she said, is that you should live with art.
“This has been such a life-changing event for us to move to Hume in a very positive way,” Sykes said. “We’ve made so many friends and acquaintances. We’ve met so many interesting people. That’s why we want the gallery to be a community space to gather and enjoy. When someone who’s not artsy comes in and loves the experience, that’s most meaningful to me.”
She aims to make Dwell not just inclusive but also inspirational.
“My hope is that at a base level, it’s a beautiful space, developed with local craftspeople, that it’s something nice to drive by, and that it encourages people to take care of the local community because we live in a gorgeous place,” she said. “It would be great if that inspires other people to do something similar, either here or wherever they call home.”
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