Gallery/Studio for Sale

Last night, I went with an Art Appreciation class on a field trip to the Girl's Club art gallery.  Long time readers of this blog know that I go there periodically.  Last night, a For Sale sign greeted us.

Four or five years ago, I got to the area early and drove around to kill time.  I remember thinking, I should buy one of these blighted properties.  At some point, this neighborhood near the federal courthouse in downtown Ft. Lauderdale is really going to take off.

But downtown Ft. Lauderdale lacks the inner city-ness of other big cities. There are homeless people, but for the most part, after dark, the downtown feels rather abandoned. I can walk the streets without feeling much danger. Of course, there's not much to do, not a vibrant nightlife. It's still a city where realistically one needs a car.
Still, there are transformations happening now.  And if I was going to buy a blighted property, that time has passed.  Many of those properties have been torn down for condo projects.

I certainly can't afford the gallery/studio space that is Girl's Club--I'm guessing the asking price will be over a million.

Maybe the asking price will keep buyers away.  After all, most artists can't afford that price.  And if I'm not an artist, what's my vision for the property?  It's not big enough for a condo project.  It would take a lot of money, I think, to turn it into a bar or restaurant.

The show last night inspired me, as the exhibits at Girl's Club always does.  I loved having the chance to see the work of Carrie Mae Weems.  But the piece that most inspired me was the collage artist who over 40 years created a work every day that included trash that he found around his New York City neighborhood.

I wondered where he kept them all.  That's my basic problem with most visual art as a creator--well, storage space and finding time.

Speaking of time, my time runs short.  Let me get ready to go to spin class and then to my day job which pays for the upkeep which means I have time and space for creative dreams.