Light, airy open space marks the metamorphosis that has occurred at the gallery at Arts on Main in Gloucester, and an opening exhibit and virtual Gala fundraiser are fitting first events to mark the transformation.

Funded with a matching grant from the Main Street Preservation Trust, renovations have re-opened the front room of the building, once again giving the art gallery a presence directly on Main Street.

Arts on Main Executive Director Betsy Henderson said that’s not all, though. Plans are to gain additional space eventually by closing in the alleyway leading to the current entry doors and turning a residential second-floor apartment into upstairs classroom space, broadening the programs the arts organization will be able to offer.

The renovation plans almost came to a halt when fundraising plans had to be scrapped because of COVID-19 closures, said Henderson. But then the grant came through, along with donations from the Cook Foundation and others that provided the fun...