Photo: Tim Faulkner Gallery

 

The Tim Faulkner Gallery Moves to the Historic Neighborhood

By Mary Margaret Sparks

Entire contents are copyright © 2014 Mary Margaret Sparks. All rights reserved

I recently had the chance to get the scoop from Tim Faulkner (Owner) and Margaret Archambault (Director) about the Tim Faulkner Gallery’s move to West Louisville. The new gallery is now located at 1506 Portland Avenue and is part of a new venture to bring revitalization to the Portland Neighborhood in West Louisville.

What prompted the decision to move from Butchertown to West Louisville?

Our decision was due to a collection of different reasons, the first and foremost being the opportunity to expand and focus the gallery and all of the artists and musicians associated with it. As much as we loved the space in Butchertown, an even larger space became available, which coincided with the end of our lease.  At that point in time moving the gallery seemed like the logical thing to do. 

How do you think your gallery will impact the neighborhood? Are you planning to do any community oriented projects?

We certainly do plan to both create and host a variety of community events as well as invite the entire Louisville community to overcome apprehensions about the Portland neighborhood. We are also currently heavily involved in the planning of Portland’s First Arts Fair, which will be taking place sometime in October.  This event will be hosted at several historic landmarks in the neighborhood including the Marine Hospital and Portland Museum. It is our hope and desire that the 15th street Warehouse district will become a destination for art collectors as well as a hub of activity for the neighborhood area.

What is happening to businesses like Matt Anthony’s Record Store that was located with you in Butchertown?

The small shops we had in the Butchertown location have all opened together in a shotgun space on Frankfort Ave.

In your new expanded building will you be adding more artists? Showcasing multiple exhibitions? How will you utilize the extra room?

The extra room will allow us to not only invite artists who create large, installation work, but we will also be able to work more with local theater groups, performance artists, and promote independent music. This space will house at least 13 working studios as well as an in house silkscreen printing shop. The gallery itself will feature, as it always has a plethora of local artists as well as several newcomers from around the United States. One thing we don’t have a shortage of is beautiful highly viewable wall space.

I’ve heard about this area being a new Arts district. Will there be other galleries or artist studios located near you? What are the plans for this new Arts district? How will it impact Louisville’s creative scene?

The Warehouse District at 15th street already houses several well-established local artists such as Chris Radke. Our building alone already has 10 of the 13 studios occupied. It is our understanding that the goals for this immediate area are to be very art focused. There are many other local artists and arts organizations that are looking to make the Portland neighborhood their future home. We couldn’t be more excited to be breaking ground in this historic area and undertaking!

Nausea, by Damon Thompson

 

The First Art Opening at the new Tim Faulkner Gallery will take place on Sunday February 23 from 2-6PM. This exhibition will feature new figurative work from local artist Damon Thompson.  (http://damonpaints.blogspot.com/)

According to an article in Louisville Business First from September 2013, Gill Holland has a vision for the Portland Neighborhood including community gardens, a children’s museum, and an artists’ row district. Gill Holland is president of the NuLu Business Association and helped bring in local businesses alongside the existing art galleries that had occupied the East Market Street area for years.

So far, a few local businesses have already made the move into Portland including Good Garbage Creative Reuse. Nelligan Hall, run by local artists and activists Aron Conaway and Hallie Jones, has had a strong presence in the neighborhood for years as the home of artist studios and the annual Portland Christmas Art Fair. Of course we can’t forget the Portland Museum, which has been a longstanding staple in the neighborhood documenting the area’s rich history. In August 2013, Mayor Greg Fischer announced the Portland Pride initiative to rehabilitate homes and help redevelop the area.

The Tim Faulkner Gallery is one of a few new businesses to make the move into West Louisville and pave the way for community development and revitalization. Stay up to date on current events and happenings at Tim Faulkner Gallery by following their Facebook page.