Thanks to my friend, Denny Schroeder, for sending me this link from Sunday's Parade Magazine: Can Art Save a Mall?
When too many stores came up empty at a large mall in the St. Louis area the owners decided that instead of demolishing it they would offer the spaces to artists for their use at $100 per month, plus utilities. You'll enjoy reading the various uses to which it has been put: art gallery, dance studio, museum, etc. Not only does it give the arts groups a home but it also increases traffic in the mall for the other stores and restaurants.
There are lots of empty spaces in the nation's shopping centers this season and entrepreneurial artists are taking advantage of this empty real estate. The organizers among them have rallied their friends and acquaintances to fill the spaces for the holiday time. My brother, Michael Mettler, is hanging his photos in a gallery at Jefferson Pointe along with about twenty five other artists. This is a "lifestyle" mall of upscale stores in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The gallery is next to the Barnes and Noble, a nice location.
My friend Donna Beaubien, has gathered the work of around forty artists to fill a lovely space at the Village in Rochester, MI, including my husband (Norm Darwish) fine art photographs. Donna reports sales were being made before they had even opened.
Now neither of these places are going to become arts districts, but we all know, where the artists settle gentrification occurs and their appearance is often the prelude to better days for the nieghborhood.
Don't believe me? Then read one of my favorite books, Richard Florida's, The Rise of the Creative Class.
Are you participating in one of these "temporary" galleries this season? Tell me about it and I'll add the info to ArtFairCalendar.com.
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