An Omaha, Neb., storage facility rolled up its storage unit doors for something much more extraordinary than boxes and bins. On Jan. 29, the Old Market’s Urban Storage facility reached out to its local artist community and offered up its vacant storage units for a two-part exhibition in which more than 75 artists and performers participated.
It’s certainly out of the ordinary for a storage facility to be a showcase for art and performance, but Urban Storage saw a fine opportunity liven up two cold wintery weekends by inviting all to see the varied art downtown Omaha has to offer. The second exhibition is scheduled for Sat., Feb. 5.
Hundreds of people wandered through the maze-like corridors of the massive warehouse on the southeast corner of 13th and Leavenworth, viewing a wide assortment of art. Artists were given one unit to transform however they wanted. Some exhibitors delivered much more unusual art than others. Alongside units filled with hanging pictures, priced for sale, were performance artists who transformed the entire space. One unit was converted into a beach-scape along with sand on the floor, live beach bums and a heat lamp. A ways down the hall, local musician Dapose played a set of experimental music to the enjoyment of those who congregated and listened discerningly.
The exhibition, dubbed the Science Fair, is free to the public and offers up a lively time with tables set up around the units with beer for sale. Event curators and Urban Storage teamed up to give the city’s emerging and grounded artistic talent a chance to reach out and entertain the public.
Urban Storage’s exhibitions are not the only recent foray into artistry involving storage units. This past fall, a German subway station designed a performance hall with portable storage units that showcased original operas, inviting audience participation from paying guests, locals and passengers coming on and off the subway trains. Located between the cities of Mulheim and Essen, the Eichbaum Opera is made of architecturally-modified steel storage container units. The project's goal was to breathe new life into the subway station.
“We aren’t just dealing with the physical space, in other words the city’s hardware, but also the program, the software,” said architect Markus Bader. “We want to find out how a place is programmed so that it might then be possible to change it,” as quoted in an article on the Goethe-Institute website.
Sources Used:
Shearer, Joe. “Storage Facility Hosts Science Fair.” Gateway. Feb. 3, 2011.
Robinson, Holly. “Portable Storage Unit Becomes Subway Opera House.” Self Storage Industry News. Nov. 1, 2010.