Gritty arts scene grows in industrial Boynton Beach niche

Gritty arts scene grows in industrial Boynton Beach niche

• 
• 
• Comments

  1

By Erika Pesantes, Sun Sentinel

11:01 p.m. EDT, October 28, 2011

Boynton Beach— 

Artists and auto repair shops coexist in a gritty landscape on West Industrial Avenue with the din of Interstate 95 nearby.

But painters, sculptors and other artistic types are creating a buzz all their own.An alternative contemporary art scene has quietly been growing over the years amid rows of warehouses where rusty bulldozers serve as easels for artwork; where abstract metal sculptures complement the industrial strip; and where a shaded sitting area next to a studio gallery offers a homey nook as big trucks zoom by.

---

Surveillance Video: Attempted kidnapping in North Lauderdale

---

"This is raw; this is edgy," city public-art administrator Debby Coles-Dobay said.Now, Rolando Chang Barrero, a Miami artist who left that saturated market for more-affordable Boynton Beach, is spearheading efforts to create a more vibrant scene that draws more people.He envisions "the district" evolving into a community where all convene for a cultural exchange of ideas; where paintings, sculptures and photographs are showcased alongside performance artists, dancers and poets."This is the place for a hyper-intellectual academic to break bread with a surfer dude and chat about what art is," he said. "It's creating an art experience akin to what was called a 'happening' in the 60s."Barrero is launching his ActivistArtistA gallery on Nov. 11 with a gallery walk through the district, involving a handful of working artists who already set up there. Works from other collaborating artists also will be shown during the walk, which Barrero hopes to make a regular event.The city designated the Boynton Beach Neighborhood Arts District in 1989 when the area was far grittier and was a dumping ground for old appliances and other junk. Since then, artists have come and gone, but new blood re-energizes the area, said Richard Beau Lieu, who petitioned the city for that designation."You can't grow a city without art," said Beau Lieu, who owns Neighborhood Gallery, "Every major city is loaded with art."Barrero's enthusiasm is infectious, fellow artists say. And those who aren't artists still are supportive. The air-conditioning business donates wooden crates from A/C parts for scrap material for artwork, and and a local auto body shop helped repair a damaged sculpture."There's new creative energy. It's very exciting and very stimulating. You can get caught up in it," said Sage Neighbors, a scenic artist who's had her studio in the art district for nearly a decade and paints sets for Miami City Ballet and Palm Beach Opera.More artists want in, Beau Lieu says, so he calls them up whenever a warehouse empties out and space becomes available.Denny Reed, a new painter who opened a studio there in the spring, said working collectively and showing great zeal is a recipe for success.Age, race, ethnicity or economics aren't barriers among artists and art lovers, she says. They'll come together simply for the sake of expression and inspiration."The whole is much stronger than the parts," she said, "I'm a big believer in setting intention. And when there's intention things happen organically."epesantes@tribune.com or 561-243-6602.

Copyright © 2011, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Business Forum: New Gallery to Open on 11.11.11

Business Profile - 

ActivistArtistA Gallery

Sun Sentinel Business Forum

Posted by Staff Writer on October 21, 2011 9:16 AM 

A flourishing neighborhood of artists is quietly located within the city of Boynton Beach.

Most residents are not privy to the existence of the Neighborhood Arts District and its newest member, the ActivistArtistA Gallery, 422 W. Industrial Ave.

Owner and artist Rolando Barrero is having fun with the opening date, launching his gallery at 6 p.m. Nov. 11 or 11-11-11. The art of Kim Fay and Robert Catapano has been selected by Barrero to be shown for the grand opening.

“Kim has a particular vision,” he said. “She has traveled quite a bit and some pieces are more personal to her.”

Catapano does multimedia art but both use the abstract technique and vivid colors, Barrero said.

“Also, the departure from one artist to the other is so amazing; they are the same genre, but both very different,” he said.

The Arts District was established in 1986 by Richard Beau Lieu, who also has his gallery and studio located there.

Other artists have followed suit over the years.

But Barrero is no dilettante in the art field.

“I came from Chicago, where I went to school at the Art Institute,” he said. “Chicago has a lot of areas where little enclave of artists reside.”

New York and a gallery on Lincoln Road in Miami are other stops where “Roly,” as his friends call him, made his mark, including changing the usual way galleries have art openings by stripping them down to just the art and its fans.

“We take away the booze, take away the furniture and have a casual environment,” he said. “It is a family outing place where an intellectual can mingle with a beach bum.”

Barrero has been making art since he was 16, giving him three decades to hone his craft.

As for the name ActivistArtistA Gallery, he said it is just something he has been using since he was young.

“I was originally doing a lot of activist art for a number of different political groups during the AIDS crisis,” he said.

Debby Coles-Dobay, the city’s public art administrator, said the Arts District already has seven artists and more moving in.

“It was an industrial area before and wasn’t kept up real well with a lot of crime,” she said. “Rick and others cleaned it up and put art on the street. Crime lowered because of this.”

She said “Roly” brings a new energy to the area, having a following not just from Boynton Beach but also from all of South Florida.

“His art is more edgy,” Coles-Dobay said. “Now we are getting a great mix of different types of art in this district.”

For information about the ActivistArtistA Gallery, call 786-521-1199.

Posted by Staff Writer on October 21, 2011 9:16 AM 

Arts District welcomes new gallery to open Nov. 11

Click Here For Sun Sentinel Story

Arts District welcomes new gallery to open Nov. 11

ACTIVE ART! 

Left, Ron Emanuele and Rolando Chang Barrero,

layout Barrero's art exhibit at his studio, ActivistArtistA Gallery, in 

Boynton Beach, on Friday, Oct, 21, 2011

. ActivistArtistA Gallery

 is hosting a show on Nov. 11, at 7pm with the work of featured artists 

Kim Fay and Robert Catapano. (Matt Dean, FPG / October 21, 2011)

Full Story by Mike Rothman 

Arts District welcomes new gallery to open Nov. 11

Arts District welcomes new gallery to open Nov. 11

Swing Spaces Light Up Quantum Town Center

The Quantum Town Center 

located just west of Interstate 95 at Gateway in Boynton Beach, 

has lit up the evenings! 

SWING SPACES Light Up Quantum Town Center

Now residents and friends can stroll the luxury complex at night and

enjoy recent artist installations 

by Roly Chang Barrero, Denny Reed, 

and a host of other accomplished artists. 

The joint venture between the 

The City of Boynton Beach, Art in Public Places Department, and 

Olen Properties 

may be on to something here.

Taking some of the most desirable retail spaces in the 

Boynton Beach's new commercial retail area and lending them to artists.

While awaiting the leasing of the retail spaces, which are filling up fast, 

the developers are now inviting you into a new vision of community. 

The temporary exhibition has turned into an evening 

ART Stroll 

as the lights go on at the 

Swing Spaces project!

The Swing Space Project

 is open to the public durning the day and in the evening everyday!

For more information about Swing Space

 or other artist opportunities contact 

Debby Coles-Dobay at the City of Boynton Beach.

To see more pictures scroll down!

(photos courtesy of Denny Reed)

Empty retail spaces double as artist exhibits in Boynton Beach

Empty retail spaces double as artist exhibits in Boynton Beach

Sun Sentinel Article 10-18-2011

Empty retail spaces double as artist exhibits in Boynton Beach

By Erika Pesantes, Sun Sentinel

8:11 p.m. EDT, October 17, 2011

Boynton Beach —

Art is popping up in surprising places, and an unlikely spot is in vacant storefronts in Quantum Town Center.

Half the 70,000-square foot center has been vacant since it was completed in 2008, so its developer has begun letting artists temporarily display their original works in empty storefronts, dubbed "Swing Spaces."

Exhibits change about every six months. On Monday, three artists installed new works at the shopping center on Gateway Boulevard, just west of Interstate 95, behind the Subway and Tasti D-Lite.
Boynton Beach artist Roly Chang Barrero called his whimsical, bird-themed pieces "approachable" and a reminder to enjoy life's journey without obsessing over the destination. Subbora Jackson, a Delray Beach artist, peppered three retail spaces with bright, abstract paintings of swirls and amoeba-like forms.








The artwork is displayed in the storefront windows, and while the spaces aren't open to walk through, the artwork is illuminated at night. The project, along with the city's Neighborhood Arts District, is indicative of a growing, local arts scene, said Debby Coles-Dobay,Boynton Beach public-art administrator.

Denny Reed, another Boynton Beach painter, displayed her "Lost Tribe Series," portraits of women on spiritual quests.

monthly art walk A may be launched by January, allowing the public to meet the artists. There's a built-in following right behind the plaza, with some 2,000 people in more than 600 apartments.

"You've got to get creative," said Coles-Dobay, 
who connected the artists with Olen Properties, the developer. She's encouraged other retail developments to form similar partnerships.

No others have developed so far, she said.

Organizers hope the artwork draws people who end up patronize existing businesses. That, in turn, can draw entrepreneurs to the vacant retail spaces, organizers say.

Although these art installations are temporary, artists would be given enough notice and allowed to move to another empty storefront if a business moves in, said Bobby Jones, Quantum marketing director.

"It's a win-win situation for everybody," he said, "It draws more people to the area; it gives [artists] exposure. It's been a nice addition here.

A cigar lounge and a community pharmacy will open soon and Quantum is negotiating with two restaurants to open there.

"The idea is to plant the seed in Quantum. The idea is to grow and expand to the whole city," said Sergio Cervantes, a Miami photographer displaying there.

Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO for Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit organization that promotes the arts, says the arts stimulate more than just the economy.

"Art in an unexpected place in a downturn economy gives hope. You have the opportunity to see something very positive, usually very animated and exciting," he said, "If you simply listen to the financial news, you could get pretty much a sense of hopelessness. I think, in a way, the art just being there, just that energy gives people a sense that we're moving forward. These bleak times won't be there always."

epesantes@tribune.com or 561-243-6602.

Mary Lee Adler: Recent Work

"Mary Lee Adler's recent work is as totemic as it is graceful."

If you are interested in seeing more of Mary Lee's work please email me for her info:

info@ActivistArtistA.com

Kim Fay: Sneak Preview

Artist Kim Fay Prepares for Exhibition!

Here is a sneak preview of new work by artist Kim Fay as she prepares for her exhibition.

Kim Fay

At

ActivistAristA Gallery/Studio Grand Opening!

11.11.11

422 West Industrial Ave.

Boynton Beach, FL 33426

786-521-1199

Andrew Turner Museum

Andrew Turner

1944 - 2001

Andrew Turner Museum

Contact Michael Gray Sr, for any further information at AndrewTurner Museum

Donations

Andrew Turner was born in 1944 in Chester, Pennsylvania. He was a graduate of Temple University Tyler School of Art. Andrew's work has been widely acclaimed, with many solo exhibitions and participation in group exhibitions. He has taught art in grades K-12 in the Chester, Pennsylvania Public Schools and in correctional centers. His appointments include Artist-in-Residence and Curator, Deshong Museum, Chester , PA; Lecturer, Widener University; Lecturer, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of China. Collections which hold Andrew's paintings include Woody Allen, Dr. Maya Angelou, ARCO Chemical Company, Bell Telephone Company, Dr. Constance Clayton, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sorgenti, Swarthmore College, Mrs. Marilyn Wheaton, and Widener University Deshong and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad. His Philadelphia commissions include: WDAS FM (1996); Marco Solo, (published by J. Schwin and G. Harlow, illustrated by Andrew Turner) Reverse Angle Productions, Inc. (1995); and Robin Hood Dell, Fairmount Park (1985).

My paintings combine the drama inherent in seventeenth century Dutch painting with the brush work and the economy and the Impressionists. However, I look to the jazz idiom more so than to other contemporary visual artists for guidance and inspiration. I tend to measure the success of my pieces by how they stand up technically, emotionally and innovatively to a Coltrane solo or whether I've captured the spirit of the occasion, a la Ellington. The subject matter, sometimes nostalgic recollections of my days as a young tough, covers a myriad of common folk activities. The setting usually my native Chester, is a beehive of creative stimulation or a deteriorating ghetto depending on my state of mind. At the very least, hopefully, these vignettes of experience will help to provide insight into some African American lifestyles and serve as an inspiration to my students and others to continue the legacy of African American participation in the arts.

-The Andrew Turner Museum

Joshua Von Nonn A Hit "On the Ave"

Joshua Von Nonn  

The Village Studio Gallery

514 E. Atlantic Ave. Delray Beach, FL
telephone    (561) 865-5480

Luckily there was someone "On the Ave" with an excellent vision.

Pairing Nano Sanchez and Joshua Von Nonn at the Village Studio Gallery was a refreshing treat in the melee of work exhibited inside and outside the galleries this Thursday's "Delray Art on the Ave." While the "Ave" was disappointing at best, kudos to VSG and the 

"Amazing Art by Joshua von Nonn and Nano Sanchez Exhibition."

The melee is not to say that there is anything wrong with the art, my issue is how poorly it's presented.

Fine art should stand alone, not intermingled with Martha Stewart Projects! 

Either run a gallery or a gift shop! Put "art on the ave," or have a craft bazaar!

For Pete's sake make a decision! 

I like crafty paper cut-outs, plop art, sofa size wall furniture etc. but they all have there place. 

I'm just not sure that having it "On the Ave"will ever make the "Ave" an arts destination.

My Top Picks

The Village Studio Galley

"Amazing Art of Von Noon & Nano Sanchez"

110NE TEN

Grace Greenberg, Curator

 The work of Art Siegel

 The Artists Guild

Roni DiSabello, President

The work of Vicki Siegel

(scroll down)

I'm Leaving by Joshua Von Nonn

Semper Obscurum By Joshua Von Nonn

The Ontological Argument byJoshua Von Nonn

Vargas Bugorski By Joshua Von Nonn

Volkkos the Wizard By Joshua Von Nonn

by Art Siegel

by Vicki Siegel