Once upon a time, the only thing you'd find on Madison (our street, not NYC's avenue) were the occasional lost ravers, homeless folks, and the unfortunate ubiquitous neighborhood crackhead. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of Lisa and Shawn Hardegree, feel free to add art gallery to that list, and a darn good one at that. The Hardegrees bring a much-needed shot of culture and beauty to a neighborhood pulling itself up by its bootstraps and hoping for a little gentrification.
Lisa and Shawn both have graduate degrees in art, and their studied approach has helped kick the level of talent in the First Friday scene up a notch. And these two are expanding their fine art empire as we write this. When you're ready to explore your inner printmaking artiste, sign up for one of the classes in their Fine Arts Education Series. Bring in your fabu art finds, and they'll frame it, for a fee, beautifully. That's reason enough to find yourself on Madison Street. On purpose, even.
