Merchant to convert shop into studios

Vince Amaro, a merchant and property owner in East Lake’s commercial district, said the historic neighborhood, “deep down inside, is an art district.”

That’s why Amaro, at Iron City Ink’s press time, was planning to close Estate Liquidators — his retail shop in the 7600 block of First Avenue North — on Aug. 19 and convert the facility into artist studios.

Amaro expected the facility to reopen by about Oct. 1 with about 15 studio spaces.

He had already decided to close Estate Liquidators, which didn’t seem to fit in East Lake. “It was a good business ... but it wasn’t producing what I though it could be,” he said.

He then learned from Robert Emerick of REV Birmingham that numerous artists in the city were looking for space. About 20 artists attended a meeting at the space in August, according to Emerick.

Amaro will be the landlord, and the facility will be run by the artists.

Lindsey Christina, director of Birmingham Art Crawl, is spearheading the creation of the artists’ collective that will manage the space. Christina said she’s working on the project with artist Celeste Amparo Pfau and that they hope to provide affordable space to “a diverse group of emerging and established artists.”

Several previous art events in East Lake have generated a positive response, according to Amaro.

“Everything we’ve ever done art-wise has attracted a lot of attention and seems to work well,” he said.

Artists interested in the studios should contact Christina at contact@birminghamartcrawl.com.