By Brian Goodin
Contributing Writer
Photos by Brian Goodin
The Southeast Art Team is busy with their paint brushes these days. So much so that they have literally pictured and painted their way into a new store front art gallery. The location is perfect for exposure to the fine art from various gifted artists because it has a healthy share of foot traffic from the stores, restaurants and nearby trolley station in the area. This art gallery is a beautiful stroke of success for the team of artists, located on the north side of the Market Creek Plaza mini mall just across the parking lot from Starbucks. The address is 342 Euclid Ave, Suite 406 in San Diego. Pop-Up Art Gallery at Market Creek Plaza is the name of this exciting new storefront gallery of unique creativity.
The culmination of this dream come true is a collaboration of many talented people who love what they do, which shows on each wall of the gallery through the artistic skills exhibited in a poetic majesty of culture and craft. There are drawings and paintings from the abstract to civil rights activist-art, along with custom handmade jewelry for sale. The team of artists are local Rembrandts from Southeast San Diego to Escondido committed to beautifying their community through art and education.
If you happen to meet one of these dynamic creators of vision, feel free to ask your heart’s desire about face painting or any number of other topics, including what materials to use for your art and more.
Kim Philips-Pea, the curator of the Pop-Up Art Gallery and President of the Southeast Art Team, says, “The team would like to see more participation in the community on public mural projects. Art is a way of helping with depression. It would be nice to see more images of hope, life and culture in our neighbors. Who knows? Maybe we can go from an artist just merely trying to sell a painting to creating a job for that artist in our city.”
The opening of this ambitious storefront gallery also saw its first sale of a painting by one of the event’s featured artists, Ami Young-Hill, who gladly sold her art to a very helpful public servant, Officer Jennifer Gregory of the San Diego Police Department. The event was joined by many along with District Four Councilwoman Monica Montgomery-Steppe.
A final addition to a wonderful day of fine art was an art walk from the new gallery location on Euclid Avenue to 50th & Imperial at the Gathering Place, right in the middle of what is called the “Mile of Art”. It is an eclectic assimilation of painted San Diego Gas & Electric green boxes along Imperial Avenue transformed into eye catching artistry. At the Gathering Place, those on hand were treated to poetry and song from award-winning poet extraordinaire, Greg McKnight Jr.
