by Monica Tsai
Staff Writer
At the end of a row of half-deserted two-story buildings is Flat 38. Having borrowed its name from its address, 38 W. Monroe St., Flat 38 is the birthplace of the Northeast Florida Artist Cooperative. It is a place vibrant with color and creativity.
“As long as our landlady is alive, it won’t be sold,” said Ryan Rummel, co-director of the Northeast Florida Artist Cooperative.
The organization was formed just over a month ago by Rummel and his business partner, Jason Grimes. Their three-pronged objective is to supply local culture and entertainment in the music, arts and film genres in three different venues.
The cooperative is a loose group of both established and emerging contemporary artists working together for a common goal, to make a living from their passion.
“You can throw all the shows you want but if you’re not making money, what’s the point?” asked Rummel.
Flat 38 is intended to be a launching pad for local visual and performing artists that are having difficulty getting into the big galleries. The artists themselves pick which pieces will go on sale at the quarterly shows. Their first show was last week and resulted in one sale.
The location is no accident. Rummel’s plan is to be positioned next to the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art to share its wide recognition.
“For me, being next to the museum gives us a better opportunity for people to see our art. It’s the best way without opening a commercial space.”
He hopes for a larger space, but to break even the cooperative has to scrimp on costs such as rental property for now and take a 50 percent commission on any sales.
“We’re working on a not-for-profit status,” said Rummel. “We would like to go after grants instead of operate as a gallery so we can give artists money to have a show. Here, we don’t have to cater to what pays the bills.”
For now, the cooperative is only promoting artists from North Florida due to the limitations of their venue. Show space at Flat 38 measures around 1,500 square feet. When a show is not up, the space functions as the living area for Rummel and his roommate Jason Grimes.
“For openings we take all our furniture and cram it in our bedrooms,” said Rummel.
The music phase consists of quarterly CD release parties at the Art Bar on Saturday. Public parks also may become a venue. Again, the focus is on local talent. Tracy Shedd has signed on already and Rummel is in discussion with other musicians to participate, too.
“She’s a musician that’s on a national label but doesn’t get any support from Jacksonville,” said Rummel.
The intent is to generate revenue from CD release parties and not from concerts. A venue to hold a crowd of 500 is the goal.
Independent films are the last medium the cooperative looks to explore. Micro Cinema at 9th & Main has been going on inside the complex for a month now. The make-shift theater has seating for 120. Movies are shown weekly on Wednesday and Friday at 9 p.m., short films three times a day on Saturday and silent films at 1 and 9 p.m. on Sunday.
“There are four or five people I know that want to show their own movies,” said Rummel. “But, filmmakers in Jacksonville are far and few.”
The line-up so far has included “Funny Ha Ha,” “Little Otik,” “Metropolis,” “Nosferatu” and the short films of Matt Goldman.
“The ultimate goal of the coop is consistency and status,” said Rummel. “We’re starting small and hopefully we’ll move forward.”