No, the Museum Store hasn’t expanded out to a satellite space on Hamilton Street (just yet). The street-level window displays of photos showing select Store items and key works from the Museum’s collection are part of a new program coordinated by the Downtown Allentown Business Alliance. DABA’s Storefronts Alive initiative highlights cultural organizations and outlets by allowing them to create displays in vacant storefronts along the city’s main downtown east-west artery.
“This project really excites all of us downtown as it provides an opportunity for us to enhance our main corridor while showcasing our retailers and different artwork in a fun, new way,” says Staci Saeger, vice president of Downtown Allentown Initiatives.
The Museum’s display in the old Grain restaurant space at 536 Hamilton and the adjacent storefront that once housed Cork & Cage was completed last week in the first wave of the Storefronts Alive rollout. Other completed displays are at 722 Hamilton (RE:find) and 724 (ArttHaus), with about twenty storefronts planned in all. The Museum’s display was designed by Museum staff in conjunction with City Center Investment Corporation’s vice president, director of project design and corporate branding, Jane Heft.
The art showcased in the first window, chosen to illustrate a range of works, is Allentown-based artist Rigo Peralta’s painting Doña Negra (2016); AAM’s world-famous Rembrandt painting, Portrait of a Young Woman (1632); and ceramics artist Toshiko Takaezu’s Closed Form (1994). The second storefront, featuring Museum Store merchandise and photos of Museum visitors, includes fluorescent-light tubes in the colors of the AAM logo that shine 24/7.
“I love the AAM storefront, incorporating not only exquisite art pieces but also their unique array of items for purchase in their retail store,” adds Staci Saeger. “Truly a visibility exciting and interesting display for all to view.”
The Storefronts Alive program is supported by funding from the Downtown Allentown Community Development Initiative (DACDI).