Corcoran Finally Closes MAC Deal

Jacqueline Trescott reports in the WaPo today that the Corcoran finally closed the deal to buy (for 6.2 million) the building where the Millenium Arts Center is located.

Gallery officials announced yesterday that they had signed the contract Tuesday night to give the city $6.2 million for the Southwest Washington property and had hired Monument Realty to oversee the project, in which the Corcoran will occupy part of the building and the rest will be converted to apartments.

When this deal started brewing a while back, there were some flies in the ointment.

When the Corcoran's plans were announced two years ago, advocates for the homeless protested, as did the artists, who complained about the lack of affordable studio space in Washington.

But apparently the artists will be given an option to move:

As part of the purchase contract, the Corcoran is offering some of the space at Randall to the artists who used to lease space there when it was called the Millennium Arts Center. "If they are interested in coming back, we are offering them space," said Rebecca M. Gentry, the gallery's vice president of institutional advancement.

I'd like to hear from some of the MAC artists to see what their point of view on this issue is...

Read the WaPo article here.

By the way, the MAC artists currently have an exhibition (opened yesterday) at Zenith Gallery's Alternative Space located at 901 E Street NW (entrance on 9th Street). On exhibit are works by my good friend Richard Dana, Inga McCaslin Frick, Wendy Garner, Georgia Goldberg, Lucy Hogg, Bonnie Holland, Judy Jashinsky · Kevin Kepple, Sherrell Medbery, Mark Planisek, Russ Simmons, Ellen Sinel, Walter Smalling, Frances Sniffen, Charles St. Charles, Betsy Stewart, Karen Joan Topping, Andres Tremols, Bert Ulrich, and Ellyn Weiss.