Six months ago, business partners Tara Southard and Amanda Lumdahl opened the doors joining their salon, Dexterity, and their new project: Caffe Niche.
Formerly Grunts and Postures, Caffe Niche is located on 779 East and 300 South. Just like the salon with which it shares a wall, the contemporary café presents contemporary artwork by local artists.
Interior of Caffe Niche
“We always featured jewelry, dresses, art and furniture over in the salon,” says manager Tara Southard, “so we wanted to carry if over into the café.” They’ve found that Caffe Niche gets more attention as a space for art because, unlike Dexterity, it doesn’t have a specific clientele.
Together, the salon and the café take up 4000 square feet with plenty of wall space. They are currently featuring photographer Stephen Wilson and painter Ellen McConnell. The artwork has been primarily networked through clients and family, but Southard and Lumdahl are working out a calendar and a schedule so they can take proposals.
Interior of Dexterity Salon
“Dealing with the art is another job in itself,” Southard admits. “We underestimated what we were getting ourselves involved in, but it’s going great.”
Caffe Niche is a proud sponsor of the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll. They’re open Tuesday – Thursday 8 am to 4 pm, 8 am to 3 pm on Sundays, and they are now open for dinner Friday and Saturday nights until 9 pm. In typical gallery fashion, they are closed on Mondays.
If you’re interested in showing at Caffe Niche and Dexterity, simply contact Tara (801.433.3380) or bring in a portfolio. They take 10-15% commission and hang every other month.
Laura Durham works for KUED Channel-7 in the Creative Services Department, curating community engagement projects for both PBS and KUED productions that foster trust and value to the communities in Utah. She also produces Contact with Mary Dickson and Contact in the Community — a digital series featuring arts and culture groups in Utah. Prior to her work at KUED, Laura spent 15 years at the Utah Division of Arts & Museums in the visual arts program and later managing communications, branding, marketing, and public value projects for all arts and museums programming. She has served the Utah community in various capacities with her role as Vice President of the Salt Lake Gallery Association and Program Director for the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll. She lives in Salt Lake City, sings with Utah Chamber Artists, and loves to contribute to 15 Bytes as often as time allows.
Categories: Alternative Venues | Visual Arts