Five15 Arts Is Moving to Grand Avenue

The Five15 Arts collective is moving to downtown Phoenix's Chartreuse gallery in March 2018.

"We're really excited about finding a new home," says Wendy Willis, a member of the Five15 Arts collective.

Chartreuse is located inside the Bragg's Pie Factory building on Grand Avenue, and it's operated by Nancy Hill, whose letterpress Hazel & Violet business is located in the same space. At this point, Hill shows artwork on one side of the space, and does letterpress printing on the other.

Hill opened Chartreuse in fall 2015, after artist and community activist Beatrice Moore decided to close the Frontal Lobe Community Space and Gallery she'd operated there for many years. Moore's space was best known for hosting an annual group exhibition called the "Mutant Piñata Show."

Hill will continue monthly exhibitions by various artists at Chartreuse through February. After that, she'll be focusing on Hazel & Violet.

"It's a lot of work to run both businesses," Hill says. "I'd really like to put all my energy into Hazel & Violet at this point."

Five15 Arts will become Five15 Arts at Chartreuse in March, Willis says. The collective has a 14-month contract with Hill.

It's the latest change for the collective, which has been a staple of the downtown Phoenix arts scene since it was founded in Roosevelt Row in 2002. Original members included Mary Shindell and Greg Esser, among others.

Current members include Willis, Deborah Hodder, Marlys Kubicek, Michelle Terry-Helmick, Joan C. Thompson, Anne Howey Falvey, Susan Risi, Katy O'Connor, and Daniel Friedman. Turner G. Davis recently left the collective, so they'll put out a call for a new member at some point, Willis says.

In 2016, Five15 Arts learned that it would have to leave its longtime gallery space in the former Flowers building in Roosevelt Row. The building was purchased by Chandler-based Desert Viking, which is creating a mixed-use development called The Blocks of Roosevelt Row.

"Desert Viking invited us to come back to the building after it was renovated," Willis says. But the collective members weren't sure when The Blocks' gallery spaces would be ready, and they knew they couldn't afford the higher lease amount, she says.

Instead, they found a temporary space at Phoenix Center for the Arts, where they've been doing exhibits every other month in a lower level gallery since January.

They'll present two more exhibitions in that space before making the move to Chartreuse — a political-themed show in September and an exhibit of works priced under $200 in November.

In March, they'll present a group show of member works during Art Detour. For July and August 2018, they'll continue their "Five15 to the Fifth" tradition of having each member show works along with five invited guest artists. Other months will feature solo exhibitions by Five15 artists.

"We're very appreciative of Phoenix Center for the Arts," Willis says. "But we're excited about being back on a street near other galleries and businesses."