I think I've mentioned before that the Shemer Art Center is located in an old, historic home along Camelback Road in Phoenix.
The center gets its name from Martha Shemer whose portrait you see above the fireplace. She saw that the house was for sale in 1984 and asked if the city would maintain it as a community art center if she purchased the home and gave it to the city. They agreed and the Shemer Art Center was born.
In 2010, the city decided it couldn't afford to run the center any longer so a group of dedicated people formed a non-profit organization to keep the the center alive.
Today the center provides art classes, workshops, lectures, exhibitions and events. All the exhibitions feature artwork created by artists living in Arizona.
Even though the rooms have been turned into gallery space, there are still many features of the historic home available to admire. I love finding these little details when I visit the center.
By the way, those paintings in the top photo are the artwork of Ed Mell a very well known artist who I'm sad to say, passed away very recently. He was a well loved and admired figure in Arizona.
8 comments:
It still deserves the charm from the era
That was an excellent decision.
The community is keeping alive, what the city was unable to. Looks like a neat space.
That is a good news story indeed, Sharon. Love that light fixture.
It's unfortunate that the city was unable to keep the place up. Governments are so squeezed these days and local services and amenities are suffering. We're seeing it here in the UK too, where even libraries are shutting down.
Thank you for bringing us to this very interesting place. I'm glad to see it continue. Aloha!
Great.
A marvelous interior.
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