Introducing Phone Gallery - annexed to the front of Russ' Auto Care - in the Waterloo Arts District.
Originally conceived in 2013 by artist Ivana Medukic of 'Project Pop-Up Galleries' and freelance designer Ali Lukacsy, Phone Gallery demonstrates the transformation of an otherwise vacant and underutilized "space" - in this case, an abandoned phone booth - into an inventive place for art display.
Until Phone Gallery was transformed in summer 2013 by Ivana, Ali, and local handyman Doug Holmes, it was utility-less and phone-less. Now, Phone Gallery is always open thanks to an electrical source (light!) and its inherently public and highly visible location just west of E.156th Street on Waterloo Road.
On September 20th from noon-2pm join artists and neighbors to celebrate Phone Gallery’s one year anniversary. This FREE event is made possible by a Collinwood Rising Vibrancy Grant sponsored by Northeast Shores DC, The Kresge Foundation, and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, collaboratively earned by long time Waterloo business Russ’ Auto Care and neighborhood resident and artist Ali Lukacsy.
Thanks to the generosity of sculptor Jerry Schmidt, the party will take place directly across the street from Phone Gallery in Waterloo 7 Studios’ drive. Come enjoy a free lunch catered by local entrepreneurs G-Wood Enterprises, free printing demonstrations and giveaways with new neighbor Zygote Press’ “Print-A-Go-Go” portable screen-printing bike, and of course the art!
Miniatures of local artist Leslie Edwards Humez’s work will be on display at Phone Gallery through the end of the month. The show, titled ‘The Illusion of Image’, will feature prints and photographs of works she has exhibited in juried shows all over the United States, set against a glowing luminaria backdrop custom designed for Phone Gallery.
Phone Gallery’s curator (me!) hosted the curious box’s inaugural exhibit, #ThisisWaterloo from April through June 2014, featuring artwork crowd-sourced from residents, merchants, and visitors of the Waterloo Arts District.
During the Waterloo Arts Fest, participants voted for their favorite images to be reproduced as screen-printed greeting cards. These cards, lovingly crafted at Zygote Press, feature four different, winsome prints of images captured in the Waterloo Arts District. The sale of these cards will benefit future exhibitions at Phone Gallery.