Originally published by the DePaulia student newspaper on March 8, 2010.

By Audrey Leon

The economy may be rough for Chicago businesses but a new initiative by the Chicago Loop Alliance aims to transform empty storefronts into temporary art galleries one vacant property at a time.

Pop-Up Art Loop launched in 2009 opening three galleries around the Loop in late November. The organization uses donated properties, which would otherwise sit vacant until renters could be found, and places artists inside for free.

Ty Tabing, executive director of the Chicago Loop Alliance, said the group was inspired by similar programs in other cities called “phantom galleries.”

Pop-Up Art Loop’s (Con)Temporary Art Space , 208 S. Wabash, officially debuted on Feb. 18 in what once housed a Ritz Camera store. Blue camera-shaped neon signs, left from the previous renter, still adorn the walls in the gallery.

(Con)Temporary Art Space is the brainchild of Ed Marszewski and his cohort from Co-prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St., which includes artists Emily Clayton, Serena Himmelfarb, Chris Roberson and Marszewski’s wife, Rachael. Marszewski also runs “Lumpen” and “Proximity” magazines  from his home base in Bridgeport.

While artists are now encouraged to submit proposals to the Pop-Up Art Loop Web site, Marszewski said he was approached by the Chicago Loop Alliance to formulate a project.

The (Con)Temporary Art Space also includes a reading room, featuring local publications, a gift shop, and gallery space on walls and in the room’s many display cases.

The space also features a unique interactive  mapping project. “The mapping project allows people to come in and pin a location of something that they find culturally important about Chicago whether it’s a restaurant or public art display,” Rachael Marszewski said.

The benefits of having temporary art galleries in vacant storefronts are numerous. For Tabing and the Chicago Loop Alliance, the benefit is making empty buildings more attractive to new businesses. For the artists at (Con)Temporary Art Space, the benefit is  simply exposure. “A downtown location gives us the change to reach people who wouldn’t experience this type of art,” Ed Marszewski said. “It’s more difficult for people to show their work in Chicago and [the Pop-Up Art Loop initiative] helps.”

Rachael Marszewski agrees. “Most of us  are a group of artists that are used to working on the periphery of the city,” Rachael Marszewski said.  “It’s a good opportunity for us and the artists we’re involved with to have a central location, which we could never really afford to be in or have would it not be for free.”

The local business community has been mostly receptive, Tabing said. “Some have and some have not,” Tabing said. “We’re finding that property owners in Chicago give a damn and those in other cities, like New York, don’t.”

DePaul University, which has an enormous presence in the South Loop, supports the initiative. “DePaul has been a big part of the cultural and economic revitalization of the South Loop and we welcome creative initiatives that further revitalize the Loop,” said John Holden, DePaul University spokesman, via email.

While the number of visitors has been sparse, this does not discourage the artists at (Con)Temporary Art Space. “[The gallery] is a great interactive project,” Ed Marszewski said. “I love seeing people who don’t know what’s going on.”

The (Con)Temporary Art Space will host a new exhibition on Thursday, Feb. 24, from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., featuring the paintings of Polish artist Anja Jamrozik as well as a diorama of lead Dungeons and Dragons figures made by the Marszewskis.

Pop-Up Art Loop currently features four galleries, including the (Con)Temporary Art Space. Tabing suggests checking the Web site (popupartloop.com) for news on the latest gallery openings.