When we think of Seattle, we think of coffee shops. Lots and lots of coffee shops. That was, after all, the city from which the worldwide Starbucks infection began. But aside from that, Elisheba Johnson has jumped into the fray with her recently opened Faire Gallery Café, and has incorporated interdisciplinary art right into the mission statement. Elisheba (that's e-LEESH-i-ba) wanted to create a space where people could experience art every day while being more than just a "café with art on the walls."
To that end, the upstairs space is primarily gallery, and Elisheba and crew feature a rotating roster of Seattle artists who use the space in ways far beyond what a typical coffee shop would offer. Artist Julia Gfröerer drew directly on the walls, while Michelle Sciubado has installed video as well as print work (on view through 3 November). In other words, it's a real gallery. Elisheba believes that this is the reason many artists are drawn to the space and why she has been able to maintain a relatively high caliber of artists that might not normally do coffee shops.
Faire also features live music and wine tastings, which Elisheba sees as going beyond mere entertainment to form part of a larger collaboration between many different kinds of artists. Faire is designed to allow different artists to come together to feed off one another's work and energies. She is working on eventually even hosting fully produced plays in the space.
