Since moving from their previous long-time home at 4636 N. Florida Ave., LiveWork Studios had allowed Tempus Projects to use their space as a temporary gallery until the construction of their new building at 3800 N. Nebraska Ave. alongside the Peninsularium and Deviant Libation Brewery is finished. Unfortunately, things aren’t moving as quickly as anyone involved would like.
“LiveWork was meant as a temporary move, but construction delays are more intense than we had anticipated. It’s not just about the availability of construction supplies, but construction companies are really short-staffed as well, so everything is moving really slow,” explains Tracy Midulla, Founder and Director of Tempus Projects. “We are very grateful for LiveWork housing us during the pandemic, but that space was never really designed for us to use for exhibitions that are open to the public for receptions.”
To get back to their pre-pandemic gallery selves with opening and closing receptions and more gallery space, Tempus Projects has signed a flexible temporary lease at the old Bali Bay Trading Company at the corner of Florida Avenue and Alva Street in the Seminole Heights neighborhood. With keys in hand, Midulla plans on having supplies delivered to start hanging plywood for walls and will add a fresh coat of paint by the end of June so they’ll be exhibition-ready.
“We’re aiming to have a big dance party on July 17 with live music and DJ. I’m excited about it; it’s been entirely too long since we’ve had a big space, and we’re really looking forward to reconvening with all of our people. We’ve had so much support throughout the pandemic to keep us afloat, we wanted to do everything we could to reopen and have events again,” Midulla says.
The party will be free for members and a small fee of $10 for non-members to pay all of the artists involved that night, including DJ Gabe Echazabal (who will be DJing from 10-midnight), Gigi Lage with video projections, and live performances (from 8-10 p.m.) by Mike Mass and a few other artists yet to-be-determined.
The last Tempus exhibition at LiveWork is Riots & Rallies, Parades & Protests, a solo exhibition of works by Michael Jones and curated by K. Tauches. This show will run through July 9, with visits done by appointment by emailing Midulla. The next exhibition, held at Tempus’ new space, will be Home is Anywhere You Hang Your Head opening late August or early September. This group show was initially supposed to be open in March 2020, so it has been over a year since this exhibition has been on hold.
“We’re hoping to be in our new space by December, but there are no promises. We could be at the Old Bali Trading Company for six months or a year. If we found the funding for it, I’d love to hold on to this space and keep them both open,” Midulla says.
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