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Nov 10, 2023

Artwork @ Pacific Grove provides The Tin Cannery an injection of creativity.

Painter Christine Chatwell says that fellow studiomate Bryan Gage lent her a

Painter Christine Chatwell says that fellow studiomate Bryan Gage lent her a brush when she needed one. When she gets frustrated, she shops at Pendleton Outlet downstairs.

The American Tin Cannery in Pacific Grove is an aging, hulking, industrial mall across from a protected beach where seals breed. Its retail glory days have long receded and many of its storefronts sit vacant, leaving the vibe feeling ramshackle, cavernous and kitschy. And suddenly that's a good thing for some specific individuals: artists.

About 16 of them have claimed working studios in a second floor former storefront, around the corner from coin-operated kiddie rides.

Jacquie Atchison, deputy director of the Arts Council for Monterey County, secured the 7,800 square-foot spot with the blessing of Cannery Row Company and it's been christened ArtWork @Pacific Grove, a collaborative work and gallery space for Monterey County artists. They’re having a grand opening with artists and live music this Friday, March 10.

Rent is 50 cents a square foot (parcels average 100-400 square feet) with utilities and wi-fi included, paid to the Arts Council (which also gets 25 percent of artists’ sales). The artists sit on a co-op board together, and photographer Hayley Still acts as studio manager.

"From what I’ve seen, they all get along," Atchison says.

The place is a trip. Roof rafters rest on I-beams jutting through cinderblock walls. Load-bearing columns, freshly painted, skewer the open floor plan. Fluorescent lights hang from chains. Sunlight streams through grimy skylights. Walls, nooks and corners collide at odd angles. PVC pipe, ducts and new electrical conduits snake across the ceiling.

And art is absolutely everywhere.

Rubber-coated chain link fences enclose the studio spaces, leaving it porous to the gaze of passersby and the canned music echoing through the mall.

"The artists said [they] really want to keep it industrial," Atchison says.

There are features left over from the previous life as a retail store: pegboard still clings to many of the walls (perfect for hanging paintings), and former dressing rooms have been converted to art supply closets and darkrooms.

Each artist has keys to the place, but it will be open to the public only noon-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Last Thursday, Bryan Gage, a multimedia artist and sculptor, and Christine Chatwell, an oil painter, were there working in the afternoon. Gage's little black pug, Pooja, kept them company.

"It's magical to come here and work," Chatwell said. "It's close to my home and I have supportive people around."

Gage agreed, citing nearby Cannery Row, the ocean and restaurants. "It's an artists’ dream," he said.

That spirit of gratitude and excitement is the most admirable component of this new venture – though the architecture and interior design is pretty cool too.

Walter Ryce has been an arts writer, calendar editor, culture columnist, sometime photographer, and one-time web content coordinator for the Monterey County Weekly. He began working at the paper, which is based in his hometown of Seaside, in 2007.

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