Walking into One Blu Wall Gallery in the Fondren Corner building is a little like diving into the ocean. The cool blue wall at the entrance envelops the visitor completely. I met owner Christina Cannon, 32, as she was getting the gallery ready for its June 1 opening. Sitting in a modern red chair next to her studio as the sunshine lit the wall behind her, Cannon described the cyclical nature of moving to the area.
“I am really excited about being back in Fondren,” she says of the move from the Quarter on Lakeland Drive. “It is like completing a circle.” Before becoming a photographer and gallery owner, Cannon was a manager at Cups Fondren for five years. When she became a photographer, Cups was the first place she exhibited her work. “So many people I met in this area when I was managing have supported me, whether it be with (photographing) their weddings or calling me for commercial work,” she says.
Before moving into Fondren Corner, Cannon and co-owner Howard Barron ran the Quarter Gallery on Lakeland Drive. Barron is a traditional black-and-white photographer with more than 50 years of experience. “He is a magician in the darkroom—he does beautiful work,” Cannon says. “My work varies between film and digital.”
In addition to displaying their own photographs, Cannon and Howard rent display space for other artists to show works in a variety of media. “We have three acrylic painters; we have a little pottery, (and) hopefully a little sculpture coming in and some mixed media,” Cannon says. “We are only renting five of the walls, which keeps it kind of small and intimate.”
Renting the display space is a strategy to help keep prices lower. “It enables the artist to keep their pieces priced affordably because the gallery will not be taking a high commission,” she explains. “I believe most people who buy art are between 30 and 50 (years old). In that age group, a many people don’t have a lot of money to throw around.”
Cannon says that the gallery is “more than just a business endeavor, it is a labor of love.
The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.