It’s no surprise that an art collective led by creators transforms an all-white room into a magical room. But it’s not just the Manchester team members. studio two three Who will be responsible for breathing life into the group’s new stores?
“This is going to be really for the community, so it’s going to be shaped by the people here,” says Kate Fowler, the organization’s director of community partnerships and development.
The new space, Shop Two Three, opened in September at 1437 Hull Street in Manchester’s retail district. The space’s focus will be on consumer products made by local artists in their studios (art prints, apparel, and other merchandise), but plans beyond that are in the works, according to executive director Ashley Hawkins. Not surprising.
“We had a vision for a better retail space, but as we were developing our plans, we kept wanting to do more with it,” Hawkins says. “We want to host artist visits, classes, art exhibitions, movie nights, etc. … Basically, everything we’ve done so far is [in our current space] And so on. ”
Located two blocks from Studio Two Three’s current art space (formerly Dogtown Dance Theater), the new store’s 1,800 square feet will provide space for a popular vendor market and to showcase new artist collaborations. I’ll add more. “We now have the space to display a wide range of work, so all kinds of artists can participate,” Fowler added.
After the studio was established in Manchester in 2008, then relocated to Fan, Scotts Addition, and most recently West 15th Street on the South Side, Fowler has enjoyed the stability of growing roots in the ground. “We started here, but coming back has motivated us to keep going,” she says.
Source: Shopping & Style – richmondmagazine.com
