Remember when “West Second South” was considered the seedy part of town? Well, all that has sure changed! With the development of the Gateway project underway, there is now more and more to do and see there, especially for art lovers.
Take the Artspace Forum Gallery, for example, one of Salt Lake’s newest galleries. Located at 511 West and 200 South, the gallery opened in April with the exhibition “Spring Again …” by T.K. Stephens and in July is featuring the works of Laura Crawford.
The 4,400 square feet glass-walled gallery is itself a work of art, with movable display walls and events space for rental. Along with displaying the works of artists from Utah and beyond, the gallery will be the site of other community cultural events such as literary readings co-sponsored by the University of Utah Department of English, bringing authors such as Grace Paley to Salt Lake City this winter.
The gallery is the latest achievement in Artspace’s twenty-year mission to revitalize the industrial west side of Salt Lake City by developing cultural facilities and affordable spaces for artists, art organizations, and others. The gallery is on the first floor of the mixed-use Artspace Bridge Projects, which offers three floors of affordable rental housing above and a combination of commercial, educational, and cultural facilities on the street level. The Bridge Projects was designed by Prescott Muir Architects and received the 2001 Merit Award from the Utah Society of the American Institute of Architects.
Artists interested in mounting an exhibition at the Artspace Forum Gallery should call 521-5999. Artspace is also inviting artists to submit up to three works for display in a collaborative show opening September 19. Check out the Announcements section for more information and the application form.
So ignore the torn up roads and construction cones in the area that unfortunately seem planned to keep visitors away and take in this beautiful new downtown gallery. It’s just a block or two from Pierpont’s galleries and just a few doors away from the also new Mestizo Gallery.
Artspace Forum Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. Call 521-5999 for details.
This article appeared in the July 2002 edition of 15 Bytes.
UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Categories: 2002 | Gallery Spotlights | Visual Arts
