Soo Visual Arts Center (SooVac) in Minneapolis’s Uptown neighborhood is trying out a pop-up gift shop as a way to emphasize shopping locally.
The gallery’s shop will “pop up” at 3506 Nicollet Avenue South, which formerly housed
Yeti Records, on Thursdays through Sundays from Nov. 17 to Dec. 24. (See
The Line story
here, about Yeti Records going mobile.) The shop’s inventory features a wide assortment of gifts, from paintings to knitwear, which are the handiwork of more than 55 artists, according to the gallery’s executive director, Carolyn Payne.
The gallery has had holiday sales in the past, but the pop-up shop allows for its annual juried show, “Untitled 9,” to go on at the same time. “It’s going to be fun,” she says, adding that it’s an opportunity to “celebrate some of the wonderful Minnesota artists we’ve had the privilege to work with over the years.”
The pop-up shop builds on the gallery’s artist-designed interactive carnival, Sideshow Soo, which was a part of the
Pat’s Tap block party in August. “We had a blast getting to know the neighborhood,” Payne says.
Having another storefront space is also a good way to bring more exposure to the gallery. “The spot is great because it is a highly visible storefront space similar to SooVAC in a busy and vibrant neighborhood,” she says.
Soon, the shop will have a window display from Joan Vorderbruggen, who runs the
Artists in Storefronts project in Whittier, which places artwork in vacant storefront spaces. Also, an outdoor sculpture from Sean Cairns, a student at the
Minneapolis College of Art and Design, will be added to the lot.
In the future, SooVac plans to take advantage of the space for other experimental exhibits, to supplement the gallery’s regular shows, Payne adds.
Source: Carolyn Payne, executive director, Soo Visual Arts Center,
Writer: Anna Pratt