Top 2 Venue Choices

Top Venues Options (as of 2/28)

Central National Bank Building:
219 E Broad St.
at Broad and 3rd St. (main entrance on 3rd)

Completed in 1929, the building is a historical landmark as the only true art-deco skyscraper in Richmond, VA and the one-time holder of the title of tallest building in Richmond. It (obviously) once housed the Central National Bank but is now vacant as the owners, the Ukrops family, have yet to find a suitable use for it.

This building has been found through "Vacant Spaces = Artful Spaces", a program started by real estate developer and Richmond native, Tom Robinson, which seeks to unite artists with unoccupied buildings in which they can show their work. The space has been used by VCU students in the past, specifically for the Sculpture MFA Candidacy show in 2008.

Usage of the space would be FREE , provided that we as a class volunteer for a day at Gallery 5, most likely a "spring cleaning" project, as the director of Gallery 5, Amanda Robinson, is Tom's daughter. The details of this are still unknown but will most likely be done in shifts according to people's availability.

The exact square footage is unknown, but I have been assured that it is "bigger than we would ever need" and that portions of the space are sectioned off and could accommodate installations.

Note: There are a lot of details about the space that are still unknown as a meeting between myself (Erin Robertson) and Tom has yet take place. Tom has been out of town but is scheduled to return this Monday (3/1) and a meeting to see the interior of the space (pics will be posted) and get questions answered will be scheduled ASAP. ( Paul is aware of this situation.)

We would be able to open on Friday May 7th (First Friday's) but it is unknown if the show will be able to stay up for the whole weekend provided that we staff it. I found out that the MFA show stayed up for five days and advertised it as "By Appointment Only" beyond the opening. Obviously, this is something to discuss as a class.

Bottom Line: We are considering this our best option as it would open up budget money for other ventures and seems to fit our needs far beyond any other venue that we have found thus far.



Metro Space Gallery:
119 E Broad St.
http://www.metrospacegallery.com/

The gallery is a subsidiary of Metro Sound and Music, a full-service music store located next door. It is one large room with two long walls of space, plus a smaller balcony with 3 walls.

Details:
- handicap accessibility
- 2 bathrooms
- 3334 sq. ft. with a balcony access
- kitchen at our disposal for the catering
- parking is available on the street as well as a rear parking lot.

Kate, curator at Metro Space, suggested that it would be more affordable if the opening of the show was on Saturday the 8th of May and not on the First Friday night of the 7th. We are confused by this as they wouldn't put up other work for that night just to take it down the next day. There have been repeated attempts to get back in contact with the gallery to get this question answered but they have yet to be reached.

It was mentioned that $700 would be a reasonable amount for 1-2 weeks with an opening on May 8th, however that price needed conformation.

One thing to keep in mind is that Metro Space requires a $250 damage deposit (refundable) as well as insurance (can be produced by VCU) in case of any person injuring themselves while working in the space. Half of the balance paid is required to hold the date, and the latter half is paid two weeks in advance to the event's date.

Bottom Line: The current price is CRAZY expensive, however, since this is a real gallery, the work could be left up for 1-2 weeks (depending on the agreement) without us having to staff the venue. The problem is that the space is not as big as it sounds. The square footage makes it sound huge, but the wall space is what we need to be concerned with and we would be pushing it there. Prints would have to be smaller and/or closer together than many of us would like and there are not any partitioned off spaces for installations.




*We are still pursuing other options, though as of now these are the top two contenders. If anyone has any other ideas or places that we should contact, please comment on this post.

Thanks to the Juror/Exhibition Panel

Composed by Erin Robertson

Posted by Michael Archer