Frank Campagna’s Kettle Art Gallery was a Deep Ellum staple that embodied the spirit of the neighborhood, with its well-known proprietor/muralist also brandishing that spirit on the walls of many Deep Ellum establishments. So it was unfortunate when earlier this year the gallery found itself forced to shut its doors after rental rates spiked.
Well, not so much anymore. The gallery announced that the real estate group called Deep Ellum 42, which has purchased many of the properties in the neighborhood, is letting them stay. The announcement comes with a request for support from Campagna, who needs around $5,000 to get the new space up an running. It’s a noble cause, but the request for funds makes you wonder, why did Campagna have to shut the old space in the first place?
It all speaks to the curious percolation of art activity on Main Street in Deep Ellum now that Deep Ellum 42 has moved in. As I wrote about in the July issue of D Magazine, Deep Ellum 42’s open door attitude towards artists allowed for a string of intriguing exhibitions in Deep Ellum this past spring. But while the artists quickly populated the space, other retail tenants — the ones who pay rent — haven’t followed as quickly. Deep Ellum 42 has invested heavily in the neighborhood, and the company is obviously making a long play. But the scatter shot nature of the new art activity in Deep Ellum exposes the pros and cons of popup spaces for both artists and property owners. Energy created by allowing artists to stage shows in free space is intense, but fleeting. Even dogged organizers like Jeff Gibbons and Justin Ginsberg eventually find themselves obliged to move on to other things without prolonged financial support for their pop-up projects.
Sure, you can hustle and find new artists and curators to step in, but when it comes down to it what Deep Ellum 42 needs if they wants to realize what they envision for the neighborhood is something more permanent. Just think of how many years Cynthia Mulchahy operated her gallery in the Bishop Arts before Hattie’s moved in. If that’s the ultimate goal for Deep Ellum 42, why not invite Frank Campagna back into the fold? You don’t even have to give him a tenant improvement allowance. Artists are like that; they’re just happy to get the invitation.
Other Notes:
Craighead Green’s New Texas Talent, one of the most reliable annual exhibitions of new artists, is back for its twentieth installment. New Texas Talent has always done a good job at pushing to the forefront some of the newest faces in local art, from recent BFA and MFA grads to promising older artists who have taken up the brush, camera, or clay again. In the past, the Design District gallery has tapped a local curator as a juror for the show, lending the exhibition extra credibility. This year, however, gallery proprietors Kenneth Craighead and Steve Green, and assistant director Scot Presley have made the selections. That makes me a little concerned. I’m not a huge fan of Craighead Green’s regular program. That said, this is still a must-see show every year.
The Texas Theatre has been wondering just what to do with a interesting little room located on the historic theater’s second floor just above the marquee. Nicknamed “The Safe Room” for a hulking, ancient safe that remains in the room from when it was the building’s business office in the 1930s, the space has served as a festival lounge for the first two Oak Cliff Film Festivals, being transformed into a western saloon and a spitting-image of The Black Lodge from David Lynch’s proto-Golden Age television show Twin Peaks. In recent months, The Texas Theater has tapped Lauren Gray to organize the program, and she has done a steller job bringing in art and artists to the the funky, micro-sized gallery. This week sees an opening of work by Semigloss‘ Sally Glass. And the title of the exhibition, Am I Still Ill, offers reason enough to link to what may be my favorite opening lines of any song.
And finally, in case you were wondering if the cracks about Dallas patrons abandoning the city for Aspen every summer were exaggerations, a public relations company sent me an email this week with a link to photos of notable Dallas patrons at the Aspen Museum of Art’s 9th Annual ArtCrush Gala. Looking at the images actually makes me tired. Patrons just never get a break.
THURSDAY
“PSWxEdu PANEL – “Travel + Technology in Performance Art” with Rachel Cook, Anthony Thompson Shumate, Jesse Morgan Barnett, and Alison Starr. MOdereated by Darryl Lauster at the Dallas Museum of Art — August: 8: 7-8:30 p.m. 1717 N. Harwood Ave, Dallas, TX 75201.
“I Hate It When a Book Smells This Bad” hosted by Danielle Georgiou in the Post Communiqué Interrogation Room at the Dallas Museum of Art — August 8: 7 p.m. 1717 N. Harwood Ave, Dallas, TX 75201.
“Summer Exhibition at Camp ASHTON” by Candy Aguilar, Michael Blair, Michelle Brandley, Ron Clark, Jesus De La Rosa, and Winter Rusiloski, at the Ashton Gallery – August 8 : 6-8 p.m. 2215 Cedar Springs Rd, Dallas, Tx 75207.
FRIDAY
Closing Reception for “In The Navy” by Alex Dijulio and Samantha McCurdy at RE Gallery — August 9: 7-9 p.m. 1717 Gould St. Dallas, TX 75215.
SATURDAY
“Am I Still Ill” by Sally Glass at The Safe Room at the Texas Theatre — August 10: 6-10 p.m. 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., Dallas, TX 75208.
“Repetition, Ritual, Memory” by Marilyn Jolly and Kendra Briscoe, at Circuit 12 Contemporary – August 10: 6-9 p.m. 1130 Dragon Street, Suite 150, Dallas, Tx 75207.
“New Texas Talent XX” by Allison Proulx, Geordanna Cordero-Fields, Katherine R. Fields, Arthur Sekula, Gregory Bergeron, Kenneth Rajspis, Cameron Tiede, Holly Lynn, Krista Quiroga, Cap Pannell, Hugh Adams, Lori Giesler, Carrie Crumbley, James Lassen, Morgan Everhart, Cassie Phan, Jamie Pickerell, Neal Paustian, Chad Michael, Jane Radstrom, Oscar Duran, Chris Wayland, Jeff Bradley, Owen Drysdale, Chris White, Jennifer Leigh James, Pat Robitaille, Claire Giroux, Jennifer Paulson, Rachel Fischer, Clint Mordecai, Jessica Morgan Amos, Rafael Mayorga, Danging Coldwell, Jim Tompkins, Raul Gonzalez, Dennis Meals, Jo Clay, Rufino Jimenez, Dennis Placke, Joann Burke Maestas, Suzanne Kelley Clark, Don Carlos, Josh Hargrave, Veronica Jaeger, Elizabeth Ferran, Julie Rendon, William Underwood, Ellie Ivanova, Karl Melton, Zoe Berg, and Erin Curry, at the Craighead Green Gallery – August 10: 11 a.m. -8 p.m. 1011 Dragon Street, Dallas, Tx 75207.
Summer Camp, A Group Show at Cohn Drennan — August 10: 6-8 p.m. 1107 Dragon St., Dallas, TX 75207.
“Icons” by Grethe Haggerty, Lawrence Johnson, Merri Ellen Kase, Leslie Lanzotti Solomon, Jennifer Lashbrook, and Grace Wielebinski, and “Pursuing Xanadu” by Lynn Armstrong, Kathryn Bagwell, Kathie Baity, Elizabeth Bingham, Jim Brightwell, Christine Candorette, Terry Cockerham, Paige Furr, Pa Jones, Vikki Martin, Marybeth Orway, Jim Price, Janet Reynolds, Randy Ross, Daniel Sellers, Sharon Shero, Jane Cornish Smith, Teresa Venable, Jamie Weisbrod, and Kendall Werra, at the Mary Tomas Gallery – August 10: 6-9 p.m. 1110 Dragon Street, Dallas, Tx 75207.
“Pro Mater Matris: New Work” by Elizabeth Holden, and “The Fear of an Achromatic Universe” by Adam Palmer, at the Norwood Flynn Gallery – August 10: 6-8 p.m. 3318 Shorecrest, Dallas, Tx 75235.
“A Momentary Glitch In Transitory Spaces” by H.Jennings Sheffield and Gissette Padilla, at the Red Arrow Contemporary – August 10: 6-9 p.m. 1130 Dragon Street, Suite 110, Dallas, Tx 75207.
