SaxArt Gallery Closing due to Lease Negotiations
For Immediate Release
June 20, 2013
SaxArt Gallery Closing due to Lease Negotiations
On Sunday, June 16th, hundreds of people stood along the Haw River in Saxapahaw and watched as Buddhist Monks deposited the Sand from a Sand Mandela they had been working on all week, Only a few of these visitors knew that once the sand was deposited into the river it was also the end of the SaxArt Gallery.
The SaxArt Gallery is unexpectantly closing due to lease negotiations with the landlord.
The Gallery was located in the “historic” Sellers Building in Saxapahaw. Built in the 1800’s, the building once housed the Village Company Store for the Textile Mill and also the Saxapahaw Post Office. The Gallery is proud to represent over 50 mid-career and emerging artists and craftsmen and has rapidly become a vital part of the Contemporary Fine Art Scene in both the Triangle and Triad Regions of North Carolina!
Gallery Director, Suzanne Connors said there were repairs needed for the building. Some of which were required in order to obtain Fine Art Coverage for Insurance. The gallery contained over $1,000,000 in inventory. The new lease had been changed making the Gallery liable for maintenance and repair items that were formerly the landlord’s responsibility.
“We held on until the last minute, but it was either take it or leave it, and nobody would even return telephone calls or emails.” Business has been good; we are not leaving because we had no business. Saxapahaw is a destination and the Gallery was one of the things people were coming for. We had really started building a good reputation in the Arts Community as A Fine Art Gallery. The loss of the Gallery will be a tremendous loss to the community. We could probably fight this and win, NC has laws to protect tenants and provide safe and habitable properties. I’m just too tired to fight these people anymore. What would happen next year? Or the next? There is just too much history with these same issues and the building is just is not getting any younger, and we cannot operate without insurance. Our lease contained a yearly “good neighbor” renewal clause; I guess we just aren’t good neighbors because we do not want to fix the roof and exterior masonry.
The Gallery plans to relocate to a new location in the next few months. Until this time they will maintain a website presence. http://www.saxapahawartists.com
Pottery, Textile Arts; Shibori, Batik, Silk Painting, Weaving, Metal Craft, Glass Arts, Music, Theater, Painting, Doll making, and whatever else we can create
