Updated 07/02/2009 06:55 PM
Artists take on vacant storefronts
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Inside a vacant storefront in downtown Ithaca, a plastic garden is beginning to bloom.
"This garden, this plastic garden will actually grow in the space until the lease is up," explained Lindsey Glover, the artist building the contemporary piece.
The installment is part of a project that brings landlords and artists together to use the empty stores as a display for contemporary art. Local artists jumped at the opportunity to show their work.
"To have that dialogue with people sort of just walking by, people that you don't normally get in a gallery setting. It's been really nice," Glover said.
The project is called "To Let." It is a collaboration between the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, curators from The Working Relationship and local artists.
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"Our idea was that these vacant storefronts would become a permanent rotating art space," said Carrie Chalmers, co-founder of The Working Relationship.
"Having the opportunity, I think, is the most valuable thing for the artists," said Wilka Roig, another co-founder of The Working Relationship. "And also of course the exposure and, and the interaction with the public."
The building owners benefit by drawing attention to their vacant storefronts and the artists benefit by having a venue for their art. But organizers say it's not just about good business, they're doing it for the community.
"In this economy, people think that empty storefronts represent that the area is like in a recession. It gives people certain feelings, so we want to let them know that these storefronts are transitional. And by installing contemporary art pieces, then we're able to have that transition happen in a way that doesn't really affect people's emotions," said Vicki Taylor, Marketing and Events Director for the Downtown Ithaca Alliance. "The space that we're in is called the Commons. And the history of a commons was that the landowners would allow commoners to come and graze cattle, graze sheep."
Or as in this case, graze the art.
The new art will be inaugurated on the Commons Friday night, with walking tours leaving the Center Commons at 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.
To see a map of the windows and the artists' blog, visit toletartprogram.blogspot.com.