Sale of Northside art studio represents the ‘joining of two legacies’

As a teenager in the mid- s Peyton Scott Russell snuck out of his mom s North Minneapolis home at night to create his graffiti art There was something magical mentioned Russell who was inspired by the documentary Style Wars And I continue to follow that George Roberts Russell s English mentor at North High and the dad of his good friend helped to keep Russell on track Their lives continued to intersect over the years as both became progressing in the Northside s growing art scene Roberts opened Homewood Studios in a gallery and studio space And Russell grew as an artist creating graffiti under the moniker Daskarone showing his work and taking on constituents art commissions in Minnesota and nationwide In Russell co-founded the Northside cultural hub Juxtaposition Arts And in he earned national attention for his portrait of George Floyd Icon of a Revolution installed at George Floyd Square At present after more than years at Homewood Studios Roberts is passing his legacy along to Russell with the sale of the building We ve been talking about this for years now Roberts reported In a nod to his friend and tutor Russell hopes to rename it Roberts Gallery once the sale is complete Related Celebrating years as a North Minneapolis hub for the arts and really great sneakers Nestled in the Willard-Hay neighborhood of Near North Minneapolis Homewood Studios features a front gallery and space in the back for five working artists Large south- and east-facing windows stream sunlight onto its hardwood floors Prior to becoming an art space the building saw a stint in the pickle-making arrangement There was a woman who was a cook at Lincoln School right around the corner who would come over here on her lunch hour and pack pickles for an hour Roberts recalled Roberts moved to the neighborhood in His wife Beverly was developing in the neighborhood and encouraged Roberts to get involved too He noticed something lacking venture in the arts He continued teaching high school while keeping an eye on the building for sale at the corner of Plymouth and Russell avenues He tried to negotiate the price down without success But when the owner moved to Florida Roberts used money left to him from his father and bought it for half the original asking price I had pictures in my head of what this could be nothing like what it has become It s really amazed me how it takes on its own life and keeps building and keeps changing In fellow society schools mentor Shirley Jones opened Plymouth Avenue Art Studio next door as an coaching and exhibition space In the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery opened a quarter mile away helping to form a region of cultural centers in the area Homewood Studios new owner Peyton Scott Russell left and former owner George Roberts stand outside of Homewood Studios on Friday Aug in North Minneapolis Minn Credit Ellen Schmidt MinnPost CatchLight Local Record for America An intention to create not to destroy Over the years Russell has showcased his work at Homewood often painting directly on the gallery walls I like to use a space as a canvas as well as frame he explained Because Homewood had been abandoned prior to becoming a studio Roberts didn t worry much about wear and tear If somebody came in and mentioned Can I paint on the walls for my show I d say Sure we can then paint over it afterwards For Russell s part he approaches graffiti as a high art expression he disclosed My intention was dependably to go out to create not to destroy I was unfailingly somebody that was trying to produce something that was beautiful and pleasing not only for myself but for people that saw it Over the summer Russell used Homewood as a base for his well-established youth arts scheme Sprayfinger while also learning to be a landlord and planning future exhibitions and services George created this beautiful space that I don t have to do much to but I do need to learn how to do maintenance he disclosed to take care of problems and issues that the current tenants have and start establishing rotating shows and figure out the system that works for me Russell noted the summer was hectic with youth initiatives filling the space but as things have settled down he s using the downtime to plan the gallery s future He hopes to do a grand opening in the spring to introduce new exhibitions workshops and rotating shows He recalled an opportunity he passed up decades ago to purchase a building nearby I dragged my feet on it and someone got it he noted When Roberts proposed that he buy Homewood Studios Russell kept thinking about his missed chance He realized There really isn t anything in the way except me he reported Let s pull the trigger It was Roberts the lecturer who suggested talking about the sale as the joining of two legacies Roberts announced I do like the idea that there s a legacy in this building The post Sale of Northside art studio represents the joining of two legacies appeared first on MinnPost