Kelly Downes - Director
Kelly Downes grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and moved to Cape Girardeau in 2015. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities (Fine Art/History) from Michigan State University, and is now pursuing a second Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education from Southeast Missouri State University.
She is currently serving on the board of the Missouri Arts Council, and was awarded the 2022 “Heart for Art” award by the Missouri Art Educators Association. Kelly is a RYT 500-hour trauma-informed yoga instructor, with additional training through Yoga East Healing Arts and Mindful Schools in Non-Violent Communication, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Meditation, and Centering Prayer.
She is passionate about the cross-section of art and activism, and creativity and consciousness, and is particularly interested in the ways that the Humanities can be utilized to create self-sufficient economies, and sustainable prosperity for all living beings. She is very excited to be a part of the arts in the Cape Girardeau community, and hopes that her enthusiasm for all of the arts translates into community engagement with the visual, literary, and performing arts.
Her life’s greatest joy is her son, Bob.
Lauren Bishop - Gallery Manager
Lauren Bishop is a Cape Girardeau native and often claims she was raised at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) and the Arts Council. Her father was the art history professor at SEMO for most of her childhood so this art community has always felt like home to her. She served on the Arts Council Board as treasurer from 2020 until she became Gallery Manager in 2023.
She received a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies from SEMO with her emphasis areas being art, art history, French, and technical graphics. She spent her last semester of school studying abroad in Angers, France.
Lauren also teaches private violin lessons at the SEMO Music Academy. She serves on the Music Academy Board as well. Aside from teaching, she plays violin in various trio and orchestral gigs. She joined the Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra in fall of 2024.
Her favorite part of being an artist is helping others find their inner creativity. She believes too many people assume that being an artist solely means you paint a picture on canvas, so she wants to help everyone see their own artistic achievements. Whether you love to dance in your house while you clean, can cook a five-star meal, or have thousands of followers on social media because you have perfected making Reels- that is all creativity to be celebrated!
