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Last Updated:
Jul 15th, 2008 - 11:49:57 |
Hot Walls
323 East
Art galleries can be intimidating places. You know, big blank walls, big expensive paintings, important people with furrowed brows scratching their chins and nodding slowly. Everyone has a cartoon-y French accent. OK, maybe not that last part. But regardless, 323 East, metro-Detroit’s newest and most exciting artistic endeavor, does not fail to break the standard. A welcoming gallery-boutique hybrid in downtown Royal Oak, 323 East seeks to benefit both local artists and the regular community by bridging them together in a very refreshing way.
323 East is a gallery that operates as a retail store rather than a static display. “Our main goal is to provide a space for local artists to showcase their work without having to pay rental or deal with traditional gallery shows,” says Owner Mike MacKool of 323 East. “A lot of galleries in Detroit are opening some shows that stay up for maybe a month, or even just a weekend.”
It looks like a toyshop for artsy types, but anyone is welcome to come and just hang out for a bit. It can’t be more than ten feet across, but every inch is packed with its ever-changing merchandise — five-inch cartoon paintings, huge pop-art prints, clothing, jewelry, furniture, an amazing sculpture made entirely of staples and super glue — and it’s all for sale. But whatever strikes your fancy (and something definitely will), you’d better buy it now, because the inventory is ever evolving to accommodate more new and different pieces. “Once it’s purchased, it’s gone. If someone buys it online while you’re looking at it, I’m going to have to take it off the wall in front of you," says MacKool.
323 East exists to bridge the gap between the growing Detroit art community and the less-connected but art-hungry suburbs. “Most of these people are from CCS, Wayne State, Detroit-based artists. Bringing it out to Royal Oak is giving not only the artists a chance to be exposed to the people out here, but it gives the people out here a chance to be exposed to different things.” He says that in Detroit, though the art community is strong, the complications of finding a space to show their work can be difficult and time-consuming. “As far as an opportunity to actually sell their art, it’s very hard.”
Next up is creating the same opportunity for local musicians. 323 East is part of Ohm Creative Group, an all-in-one creative marketing and production agency that operates out of the same building. MacKool wants his DJ friends to lend him mixes he will play and sell in the store for a low price, just to get their name and music out. The concept is the same — to bring art to the people and people to the art.
Walking down their Fourth Street home, you’d probably first notice their neon green exterior, but walk in after seeing the stack of Kwame Kilpatrick coffee mugs on display in the window (with his “mug” shot on it … get it, get it?). “It’s probably the best window display we’ve had,” jokes MacKool. As Real Detroit is chatting with him about the surprisingly popular items, a couple walks by, staring at the bright green exterior. “Hey, you want a Kwame Kilpatrick mug?” he says to his lady-friend. It may have been cinema-perfect timing, but the interest in the mayoral merch is an example of the way 323 East is sparking curiosity in people that didn’t even know they were interested in art. They keep walking, but they’ll probably be asking if anyone’s been into that new green building over on Fourth. It might be exactly what they needed to see. | RDW
Off the wall: 323east.com
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