There is a pocket of art downtown that you might not have heard of. It is located at 930 10th Avenue and is formally called the 10th Avenue Theatre and Arts Centre. I have only been once and I was charmed when I arrived for an art opening last year. In a world of strip malls and white box gallery spaces I was surprised to enter the base of an older, former office or apartment building, something solid that predates the ball park and the condos and Horton Plaza. It’s close to and therefore architecturally similar to the Post Office and the Library so you get the picture.
I am not sure what else fills this building with the discrete sidewalk entrance (that has an elevator which was not working when I went) but the ground level theatre is home to the Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company and this year another performance space has opened called The 4th Floor Cabaret Stage. On the third floor, however, there is a large open space that serves as a shared studio for a number of artists, mainly painters, with smaller spaces around its perimeter. Some former rooms where old typewriters might have clacked have been transformed into exhibition spaces. On the night I visited the rooftop was the location for an opening night reception. Of course it had a cool view of the city but also a large open fireplace.
I can’t guarantee the rooftop event but a new exhibition opens in the 3rd Floor Gallery this week with an artists’ reception Sunday, Feb. 26, from 6-8 p.m. The show is titled His-Story – A Series of Artwork and is curated by resident artist Gerald Montoya of StudioM. The eclectic selection includes Adam Lewis Smith’s photographic mosaics, ceramics by Blind Art Gallery’s Ahmet Ustunel, Jordan Saia’s stylized illustrations, the cyanotype process print work of Elijah Rubottom, and Steven Thomas Higgins’ emotionally charged oil paintings.
His-Story is on display from Feb. 23 – March 18, in concert with Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company’s production of How I Got That Story. The gallery will be open prior to each performance, 6 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and 1 p.m. Sundays.
