Last night was the grand opening of the Alexander Gallery at the century-old Porter Warehouse in downtown Fayetteville. Ozarks At Large’s Sophie Nourani attended last night’s opening to speak with attendees and artists about the importance of historical preservation and of supporting visual arts and community.
Sophia Nourani: Dozens gathered last night for the grand opening of the Alexander Gallery at the historic Porter Warehouse in downtown Fayetteville. The warehouse is almost 120 years old and underwent a nearly $1 million renovation to improve the building’s significant structural issues caused by time and lack of use. Through work done by the city, the Walton Arts Center and benefactors Bob and Becky Alexander, the Porter Warehouse was alive once again. Attendees waited outside in cold, wet weather to see the new space and the inaugural exhibition, “Our Art, Our Region, Our Time.”
“I’m Dan Kelly and years ago, I shopped here when John Porter was selling double-yolk eggs and other produce. But the main thing that was going on here was the domino games in the back, and the men would gather around. Selling produce was a sideline. That’s what I remember."
"Well, we need more art.”
“This is a town that loves art.”
“Yeah, and we don’t like buildings that are falling apart. So they did good."
"My son told me a story when he was walking home from school. He would stop here and buy a peach or a pear or an apple for a quarter."
“Bob Stafford, Fayetteville City Council Ward One and Arts Council member since 2018, I think. Very excited to be here and see what they’re doing. I can’t speak too much about it yet because I haven’t been inside. Glad to see that there is a line with the weather. Yeah, we’re all braving it out here. I’m very excited about this. I have been looking forward to this for years.
"And I think it’s extremely important and vital. I mean, this is one of the last pieces downtown that remind us of old Fayetteville. It's still a piece of our historic city, you know. So I think it’s vital that where we can we save and preserve buildings and structures like this."
"I like Fayetteville funky. We got the funk and the grit. I’m from Eureka Springs originally, but I’ve lived in Fayetteville ten years at least. And I’ve seen a lot of changes over the last few years. But I want to keep the soul. And I feel like keeping the old buildings keeps some of the soul alive."
Nourani: “Our Art, Our Region, Our Time” curator Cathy Thompson says the warehouse was a no-brainer for this particular exhibit
Cathy Thompson: The space itself has been a no-brainer for a long time, and I think that just the city and the Walton Arts Center going together and making it happen is fabulous for everybody. The way this show, the regional show, came about is that my friend Jason Smith, who works here, called me in one day and said, ‘I want to talk to you about something.’ So in essence, what he asked me is if I would go to work for the Walton Arts Center and curate the shows in the gallery and see to see if people, in the community and the Walton Arts Center, patronage, if people were really interested in the visual arts. Well, it was overwhelming. So that’s why we’re here, really, in a way, because we realized and everyone else that it was something that people really wanted.
Nourani: Thompson said there were over 400 applicants for this year’s "Our Art Our Region, Our Time."
Thompson: And there were 75 artists who were chosen. So. And we didn’t really understand what this space was going to end up being like as far as hanging, Or so we just limited it to 75 artists. But then we had 88 pieces, I did, I hung everything myself. For me, as someone who’s curated the shows. This is my fifth show. I’m just so happy so many people are interested. I mean, and people will come here all the time. Now it’s a gallery and it’ll have regular hours.
Nourani: Patrons Bob and Becky Alexander say the space is beautiful and they are pleased with the outcome.
Becky Alexander: Oh, it's a beautiful space. It’s going to be wonderful for the artists. And we love how it turned out. Saved a historical building, first of all. I heard someone say they remembered their mother. Someone buying apples here or something, produce? So, yeah.
Bob Alexander: I’ve lived here since the 1950s and I was a little boy then, so I don’t remember. We probably did come here with my parents, but I don’t remember that. But it’s a great partnership with the city and all the work they put out on the facade, saving it on the front. It was all falling down and they had to take every brick off, brick by brick, clean them and put it back up. And the floors are all original. The columns are all original. And so it’s, it's a partnership that could not have happened without them.
When the art was displayed for exhibitions over in the Walton Arts Center, we, I think, added three pieces to our collection over the years. And so, uh, we needed another place. Once that got made into a lounge and, uh, so this is great, and I’m sure we’ll end up buying something.
Nourani: Operating hours for the Alexander Gallery will be Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday evenings 5 to 8 p.m. For more information on the gallery and the "Our Art, Our Region Our Time" exhibit, you can visit WaltonArtsCenter.org.
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