June 10, 2009

Dear friends of the Gallery Above,

It is with a very heavy heart I must inform you that the Gallery Above will be closing its doors at the end of the month.  I have put everything I had into the Gallery Above, and then some.  I worked 60 to 80 hours a week passionately and full-heartedly to run this place.  I truly believe that the Gallery Above was more than just a unique place, it has been a space where the arts meet, explore, and thrive.  From the moment I moved to Panama City, long before thoughts of owning it came about, the Gallery Above has always been, by far, my favorite place in the area.  It has held such a great importance in my life, and as I have been told, in the lives of others.  Unfortunately, there has not been enough financial support to keep the doors open any longer.

This was a decision that was not easy to come to, but it is a final one.  I am not looking for any donations, events, or anything else to “save” the Gallery Above.  I have started to make plans for my own future, and I will be able to concentrate more on my personal art.  I plan to continue to be involved in the local arts community.  I will also continue to teach classes at the VAC: Portrait Drawing on Tuesdays and Live Nude Figure Classes on Thursdays.

While the Gallery Above has been a huge supporter of local arts, I hope that every artist who currently shows here will continue to create art.  Do not forget that there is the Art Coop, the Panama City Artists, The UnReal Artist’s Gallery, the Visual Arts Center and more.  I will be contacting all of the artists that currently have work at the Gallery to ask them to pick up their work by June 30^th.

Until then, the Gallery Above will be having a CLOSING SALE.  ALL ART WILL BE 20-25% OFF.  The same amount will still go to the artist (60% of the original selling price.)  That includes all of the artwork in the permanent gallery which currently holds works by fifty artists.  ALSO ALL GALLERY ABOVE T-SHIRTS 50% OFF.  ALL REMAINING STOCK OF ART BOOKS 50% OFF.

I will be keeping regular hours for the remainder of the month:  Tuesday – Friday 10am-6pm and Saturday 10am-5pm.

I would like to deeply thank all that have supported the Gallery Above.  Anybody that has bought art, paid admission to music shows, swing nights, any other events, or just donated to the gallery – I appreciated it all.  I only wish there were more individuals who were as supportive.

If anybody would like to consider taking over the Gallery Above, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Heather Clements