If ocean-based shipping containers had aspirations, they might want to grow up to be Hot Box Gallery.
The gallery, a 20-foot long steel prism on Fourth and Roosevelt streets, has played host to artwork from a different artist each month since January of this year. A project started by Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation, the container was the first of its kind in downtown Phoenix.
And now, two new shipping containers will have the chance to be just like Hot Box starting this month. They have already taken their places on either side of the inaugural container.
“It’s going to mean more people coming to the shows, more conversations with artists,” said Becky Nahom, who co-curates Halt Gallery with fellow ASU alum Julia Bruck.
Halt, which does not have a physical space but rather partners with many spaces, showed an exhibit in Hot Box in June this year. They will be taking over the shipping container on the west side of it. The Phoenix Institute of Contemporary Art (phICA) will be curating Hot Box, as well as its eastern counterpart.
The CDC said it is funding the two new containers in part through a grant received in June, and is expanding the idea of Hot Box because the gallery has been a driving force in the connection between art and the surrounding community.
“When the doors are open it is literally open to the environment, to people walking by,” said Greg Esser, the CDC’s vice president. “These make a direct connection to people casually walking by who might not make the decision to walk into an art gallery.”
Phoenix artist Rossitza Todorova experienced this firsthand during her recent showing in Hot Box on October’s First Friday. A paper landscape of mountains and gridlines covered all three walls. Visitors ranged from ASU students, to Mayor Greg Stanton, to toddlers who tested out the artwork with tiny hands.
Todorova encouraged people to go inside if they were hesitant, and didn’t worry about people touching her work. She even told people to use the hashtag “#HotBoxGallery” if they post photos on social media.
She said she also connected with the space itself, planning and designing the piece to compliment the container’s hallway-like feel.
“I wouldn’t make this work unless it was for that space,” Todorova said. “So it was definitely an inspiration from that location.”
The great thing about the containers, Esser said, is they are not confined to one location: They’re actually portable. Ted Decker, director of phICA, said that is exactly what they have planned for at least one of the containers.
The goal, he said, is to shake up the traditional concept of what an art gallery is supposed to be.
“I want to break that mold and take art to where people are rather than expecting people to walk through our door,” Decker said.
The organization has received two grants to fund the temporary relocation of one or more containers, in order to expand the gallery audience. Decker and Esser have a number of locations in mind, including “Super Bowl Central” in downtown next year.
For now, all three of the galleries will be open this third Friday, October 17th, on the same vacant lot on Roosevelt. But they’ll already be pushing for the unexpected — Halt’s gallery will be titled “The Jungle Box,” and will give viewers what Nahom calls “a bird-watching experience.”
In 2012, the Downtown Devil wrote that the CDC’s original plan had been to use shipping containers for businesses, but this plan changed in part due to building code challenges, Esser said. The art gallery concept proved to be easiest to start with because the galleries are technically still considered storage spaces.
But now, the CDC is ready to take the storage container concept to the next level. Esser said they are actively working on getting three new units to be fully permitted as buildings, with plans to turn them into permanent artist live-work spaces, a cafe and office spaces. The first phase of this project should be completed by early next year, Esser said. And it was Hot Box that got the process going.
“We are using this as an advocacy tool to talk about how important it is that artists retain permanent, accessible workspaces in this district,” Esser said.
Todorova said it’s just not in her budget right now to rent out a studio space. Even a shared one, she said, could cost her a few hundred dollars a month.
“It’s just like, gosh, how can I split this space like ten more ways so that I could pay anything underneath that price?” she said.
Of course, with Hot Box, the CDC did not have to worry about expensive add-ons such as air conditioning. Figuring out how to outfit containers with all the necessities while keeping them cost-effective will be the CDC’s next big challenge.
“The name of the gallery is true,” Todorova laughed. “It’s hot in there.”
Contact the reporter at ascline1@asu.edu
