Tilt Gallery, a fine-art gallery focused on photography and mixed-media projects, has moved from downtown Phoenix to downtown Scottsdale and is repurposing its Fillmore Street and 10th Avenue location to focus on the local art community.
The downtown Phoenix space, where the eight-year-old Tilt Gallery was located, is now known as Tilt 2 Community. Although ideas for this Phoenix gallery have not been finalized, it will focus on being involved in the local art community, said co-owner Melanie Craven.
“It’s a really nice space downtown,” she said. “We would like to still keep it to the community and educate people about the photography and different processes.”
Tilt Gallery moved to downtown Scottsdale at the end of November. Craven said it was difficult to find clientele in downtown Phoenix who would be interested in not only viewing the historic photographs but also purchasing them.
“A lot of visitors, people who are tourists and stuff, they’re not going down to that area,” Craven said. “It made it hard to be open every day.”
The gallery was open for the art walks on the first and third Fridays of each month and was also open every Saturday. But it was still unable to sell the displayed professional artwork.
“People would only come for First Friday, or meet artists, or hear lectures,” Craven said. “We weren’t selling anything.”
Rachel Woodburn, the graphic designer for both spaces, said while there is a clear vision for Tilt Gallery in downtown Scottsdale, the vision for Tilt 2 Community in downtown Phoenix is still a work in progress.
“We’re kind of in a transition right now and trying to find out what the future will hold for Tilt 2 Community,” Woodburn said. “One of the possibilities for Tilt 2 Community is that it can become similar to a co-op space.”
She discussed possible interaction between Tilt 2 Community and photography students at ASU. Both Woodburn and Craven are now looking for a group of local artists or ASU photography students who could take control of the gallery.
“We’re trying to figure out if there is someone, or a group of people, who can take Tilt 2 Community and go forward with it,” Woodburn said. “There is only so much time and energy, and (the owners and I) have to focus on the Scottsdale space to make that successful, to make that transition and to make that work.”
The search for local artists or photography students who would be willing to lead Tilt 2 Community has spread through word of mouth. Woodburn said the group of artists would have complete control of the gallery, including its finances and its vision.
According to both Woodburn and Craven, some ASU photography students who are graduates or are near to graduating have expressed interest in leading Tilt 2 Community.
“We thought that would be the strongest group of students, on the edge of professional, ready to merge into the art community, graduated or are graduating,” Woodburn said.
Craven said this would give opportunities for ASU students in photography or photojournalism to have their work displayed and viewed by a larger artistic audience.
Some Downtown ASU students said the new opportunities for displaying their work in a gallery setting for a large community would be beneficial.
“I think everyone is really interested in exposure,” Lizzy Riecken, a sophomore at the Cronkite School, said.
Although Riecken is focusing on broadcast journalism, she said photography classes have drawn her attention to artistic photography.
“It’s not exactly easy to get published, and galleries who want to display students’ work; it’s a great thing,” she said.
Journalism sophomore Kyra Wennersten said it’s a good opportunity for photojournalism students and others interested in the artistic side of journalism.
“It’s important to get involved in the art community and this could open up more doors,” she said.
As an art and photography alumna of ASU, Craven said the opportunity for exposure at Tilt 2 Community for ASU photography and photojournalism students would be a great change. She said it is difficult for students to get recognition for their work. Showing them at a professional gallery could be good opportunity, she said.
Both Craven and Woodburn said they have discussed the possibility of making Tilt 2 Community a place for artists to rent, live and display their work.
“It would be a space to do work, to shoot, to paint and live for a while,” Craven said.
Woodburn said the future of the space has no definite answer.
“We don’t know the future of what that is yet,” she said. “If we find the right people who are willing to take our passion and our vision forward, or one of our many ideas or visions for that space, that would be great, but we’ve just got to look at all the possibilities for what it can become and what we can do realistically.”
Contact the reporter at whitney.ogden@asu.edu
