Up their alley
Creators to vie for rent-free spots in pedestrian area of Gateway
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 3:10 AM
By Jeffrey Sheban
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The alley in South Campus Gateway has some empty storefronts that Campus Partners hopes to fill with artists and dancers.

Among the vacant locations being offered to artists is the former home of Au Moda, a boutique.

To be considered for the Gateway storefront spaces, artists have to explain how they intend to use the location and how they might encourage public interaction.

Hard times for the retail industry could be a boon for artists and dancers in need of space to work and perform.

In a collaborative effort with the Arts Initiative at Ohio State University, Campus Partners plans to offer rent-free space to emerging artists in its South Campus Gateway complex along N. High Street.

The artists will occupy empty retail storefronts amid the Gateway bars and restaurants, with a goal of attracting the energy and excitement of the arts to the still-evolving commercial and residential district.

"Retail is having a tough time across the country," said Jim Heinen, general manager of South Campus Gateway, a five-building development that opened in 2005 just south of the campus.

"It's a tremendous opportunity, and I think it will have a bearing on everything that happens here."

Heinen developed the idea -- dubbed "Arts Alley," in reference to the pedestrian alley east of High -- with Karen A. Bell, associate vice president of the Arts Initiative, a campus-outreach group with offices in the Gateway complex.

"We think we can energize this alley with the arts," Bell said.

The intent is to create a community of artists who will interact with area businesses and with the university -- and draw new clients to the district.

Initial plans call for four or five artists and dancers to occupy the former Au Moda clothing store at 1552 N. High. The 1,500-square-foot space, across from the Arts Initiative office in the alley, could be used for rehearsals, studios, galleries and performance space but not as living quarters -- with the artists paying the utility bills.

A 900-square-foot space in the alley, the former Y Boutique, is also part of the program.

The artists will be selected by a committee composed of members of the Arts Initiative, Campus Partners and one or two professional artists.

A draft application asks artists how they would use the space and interact with the public.

"It's an experiment," said Arts Initiative spokeswoman Victoria Ellwood. "We're probably going to be amazed by what they come up with."

The first artists, Bell said, could be in place by early September.

Jenai Cutcher, a 31-year-old tap-dancer who recently completed a master's degree in dance at OSU, is interested in applying for space, which she would use for rehearsals and performances.

"As a dancer, your primary need is space," she said. "I think it could work for me, for sure."

Adam Brouillette -- a painter and the manager of Junctionview Studios, with 44 studios for 62 artists in Grandview Heights -- is also interested in the program.

More commercial developers, he said, are incorporating artists into their plans.

"The current trend, right now, is (that) artists are being asked to come out of their caves and be in the spotlight," said Brouillette, 29. "It's amazing the opportunities that independent artists are starting to get."

Not everyone is convinced that filling former retail space with artists and dancers will help Gateway.

Jason Pennington, general manager of the Mad Mex restaurant and bar at N. High and the alley, called the concept "frightening" to some area merchants.

"I'd like to see more restaurants and bars or retail that appeals to students," he said, naming national chains the Gap, Old Navy and Payless ShoeSource as examples of proven businesses that would generate foot traffic.

"I don't think it's wise to have arts stuff in here," he said. "I just don't see that many people being interested in coming down here to check that out."

Gateway won't easily compete with the Wexner Center for the Arts to the north and the galleries of the Short North to the south, said Tori Nolan, assistant manager of the Finish Line store on N. High.

"When you think 'art on campus,' you think Wexner Center," she said.

Still, Nolan said, she is willing to keep an open mind and see what develops.

"If it's interactive, then maybe it could draw some people who are just walking by," she said.

"It's better than empty storefronts because empty stores say, 'Hey, we're having a recession.' "