Disaboom brought you an article a few months ago about a converted grocery store in Austin TX named Community Renaissance Market. This 60,000-square-foot, eye-sore-of-a-building had been transformed into a microbusiness incubator for fledgling entrepreneurs. It was the brainchild of Ruth Glendinning before her husband, Keith’s death. It now stands as a testament to his courage, and carries on his legacy: to support those who cannot always advocate for themselves.
Today, the market sports a large-scale, mosaic wall mural of a vibrant coral reef complete with mermaids and sea life. In Austin, TX? Ruth explained, “The concept for the Aquatrium came to me when I was standing in the atrium last fall with the roof leaking and thought, ‘This isn't an atrium, it's an aquatrium!’ Fortunately we know many talented folks who could move that concept out my head and into something real.”
Those creative people turned out to be Austin installation artist and project manager, Craig Lopez, and artists Jennifer Lovelace Rosas and Mitch Brookman. But they didn’t work alone, students from the Harmony School for the Arts, under the direction of Tressie Seegers, contributed their artistic skills. The Harmony School, which is housed in the Market, works with children with disabilities to encourage art appreciation and creativity among the students.
“This project is another way to show that we are very Austin-based and this is the kind of creative, spontaneous art you see in other places but you don’t necessarily see it here or on a neighborhood level where you can reach up and touch it,” she said. “This is actually spontaneous, community art. People feel really connected to it. It is neat to see kids and adults come up and touch it and feel a part of it.”
To read more about this project which can be duplicated in other cities, go to:
http://www.disaboom.com/advocacy/vacant-grocery-store-now-a-haven-for-entrepreneurs
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