1515 Lincoln is an OKC address dedicated to every art form from culinary to visual
3
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The house dates to 1920.
Susan McAlmont had driven by it many times before seeing a For Sale sign in front.
"There were artificial window boxes hanging in the front," she recalls. "I wasn't so sure."
But she got ideas once she walked inside.
"As soon as I walked in I thought this could be the place."
With a background in art history, she already owned a gallery in OKC, but she had bigger ideas that came together as she walked through this century old oil baron mansion.
Listing its assets, "Dining room, kitchen, sunroom, patio," she gushes. "There is a place for people to meet."
She was imagining a Paris style salon, a collective comparing ideas in art from the visual to the culinary all under one roof.
"Does it fit with what you had in mind," we ask?
Susan smiles in reply, "It really does."
McAlmont installed a wine bar, a professional kitchen serving lunch with a Parisien flair.
Artists Josette Simon- Gestin and Marc Barker were old friends who found the new 1515 Lincoln a perfect spot to stage a new exhibition of their work.
Josette's paintings use fabric and even old maps to texture and add meaning to her work.
Lines and folds on the map, she points out, "become flowers and part of her dress."
Marc's oil paint drawings are cloud studies of every type, most of them imaginary.
"I do the storm up here," he tells us pointing to his head. "I don't take anything from photographs."
Art and wine appraiser Scott Hale was looking for a place to rent office space.
"This is fantastic," he gushes walking into a small, upstairs bedroom.
Taking over this space was a perfect fit.
"It's been an absolutely wonderful experience," he states. "Any number of people who come into the gallery also ask about needing appraisals."
Wander the rooms and you'll see work from 50 different artists, all for sale.
Susan is still building out her salon idea, bringing in music, food, wine, and visual art under one roof.
Her address was a home first, then offices, and even a school.
It's re-purposed again as a place where the arts can flourish.
For more information on 1515 Lincoln Gallery go to their website here.
Great State is sponsored by Oklahoma Proton Center