By Amy Stoltenberg
Photo by Lizzi Stuart
Sicky Nar Nar is a one-room art gallery on the corner of Duffy and Barnard Streets next to Forsyth Park. Co-owned by SCAD alumni Logan Crable, Chloe Cryan, and Andy Price, the gallery is a concept that originated while the three friends were vacationing in Costa Rica. These creative minds decided to open a gathering place where art could be both displayed and admired.
“We wanted to break out of the conventional gallery scene, to be easily accessed and friendly. We want people to come here, have a good time, and stay for a while,” said Cryan.
Part of their strategy to achieve this vision is the name of the gallery itself. “Sicky Nar Nar” is a phrase Crable came up with while in California.
“He heard some little surfer kids say it, and it stuck with him. It’s surf lingo–sort of like saying ‘gnarly’ or ‘sick.’ We thought it was a funny play on words,” Cryan continued.
Julia Verbanic, a sophomore Art History major at SCAD, interns at the gallery where she sets up exhibits by night and brews coffee by day.
“There is a nice and relaxed atmosphere here.” Verbanic said. “People are nice and friendly, and everybody enjoys seeing the art that we have on display.”
The decoration of the space echoes this relaxed, bohemian theme with a combination of rough burlap coffee sacks and glowing lanterns hanging from a tree in the center of the room. Cryan, an artist by nature, said they took a very hands-on approach to furnishing and accessorizing the gallery.
“We built everything ourselves,” Cryan said. “It was pretty much a DIY.”
The art gallery originally opened on March 1, 2013, and in Jan. 2014 they added a coffee bar to the scene. Situated on the corner of a neighborhood next to Forsyth Park, Sicky Nar Nar hopes to attract both locals and SCAD students from nearby Eckburg Hall.
The coffee bar offers a basic menu of beverages: drip, pour over, iced coffee, hot cocoa and tea. Cryan said they wanted to keep it simple and streamlined, focusing on the quality of the beverages. Local roastery Perc Coffee partnered with Sicky Nar Nar to provide barista training, and also supplies the locally roasted beans they brew.
One of their specialty drinks is the Yerba Maté, a South American specialty tea with more caffeine than coffee.
“It is really bitter–definitely an acquired taste–but it’s super good for you,” Cryan said.
In addition to art and coffee, the gallery offers yoga classes at 7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, as well as various creative and spiritual workshops throughout the month. As for music, the three co-owners plan on bringing in live bluegrass, bass, and banjo music.
Open to the public of Savannah, the gallery encourages new members to attend their upcoming exhibits each Friday night.
