Amazingly enough, San Diego arts dealer Alexander Salazar has managed to thrive in spite of the recession, the high cost of his carefully selected collections and the economic depression surrounding his downtown gallery space.
But simply staying afloat isn’t what drives Salazar forward.
The openly gay art dealer and owner of Alexander Salazar Fine Art, a gallery space on 7th and Broadway that will celebrate its one-year anniversary this Saturday, wants to create an LGBT-friendly arts community in the neighborhood that he admits is “still sort of sketchy.”
There are “a lot of artists in San Diego, and a lot of galleries aren’t tapping into that market,” explained Salazar in an interview with San Diego Gay & Lesbian News. He intends to change that – first with the artist-in-residence space where he sponsors up and coming young artists, next with a campaign to bring other galleries to the neighborhood…and finally, with an increased presence in the San Diego LGBT community.
“I wish more people from Hillcrest would leave Hillcrest and come Downtown,” Salazar said. “I think it’ll happen eventually the more they know about [the gallery]. It’s still our first year. As time goes, people will know where I’m at.”
He plans to kick-start his connection to the Hillcrest population with a float in this year’s Pride parade and benefit events at the gallery to support LGBT-oriented charities.
“I have stacks of art. I have no business buying more art, but it’s the thing that I like,” he said simply. “When you love something, you make it work.”
