Jeremy Turner, founder of the Vintage Mobile store and purveyor of 3,000 holiday sweaters last Christmas, is taking on another sector of the mobile economy: art.
Turner says he has purchased a 1955 Spartan trailer and plans to convert it into an art gallery.
"I want to show art by local artists, artists who have both a technical proficiency as well as ideas to share ... when idea and skill meet, beautiful things happen and the world needs more beautiful things," Turner says. While he hopes the gallery will be ready to go by Summer, he first needs to raise some funds.
Check out the full Q&A with Turner below.
See also: The Vintagemobile Guy is Selling 3,000 Christmas Sweaters, Has Amazing Commercial to Prove It
How did you come up with the idea? For the last few years I have been encouraging my neighbor, and good friend Al, to show his amazing paintings in some sort of public show. On New Year's eve this past December, Al and I were talking about his ideas and painting concepts and it dawned on me that I might be able to house his debut art show. I had recently purchased a 1955 Spartan trailer (think boxy airstream trailer) and I told him that night that we should turn it into a mobile art gallery. As we rang in the new year, my wheels literally started spinning about how to make not only Al's breakthrough art show happen but how other emerging artists could find their voice and display the beauty they create right here in my little aluminum trailer.
Tell me more about the trailer. It is similar to an Airstream, but a bit more boxy, all metal and very large (33 feet that is). It is right here in Dallas and ready for it's extreme makeover. I found it on Craigslist in East Texas and although I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with it when I bought it, I couldn't pass it up. It's going to make a really awesome space.
Who's helping you with the project? Many people have been helping me out with this project and with getting our Kickstarter campaign up and running. I want everything about the Kickstarter rewards to be about showcasing the great local artists all around us. For backing us at the $25 level, Connor Hill has designed some sweet t-shirts, Al Perez will be creating prints of his original pieces at the $40 backing and some photographer friends will be shooting one-of-a-kind Polaroids for $15.
A hugely talented photographer (and now videographer), Nicholas Leitzinger, did all the filming and editing of the short video and Tim Frost created the perfect score for the video. Gary Buechner, whose handiwork can be seen at places around town like Oddfellows and The Belmont Hotel, will be doing the trailer transformation. He is a master at what he does and has loads of experience with vintage trailers. The trailer in itself will then be a work of art.
Where will you park the art gallery? Do you have any particular locations/festivals in mind? I'm hoping we can have a more fixed location as I would like it to be open most every weekend but I'm still working on finding the perfect fit. Hey, Klyde Warren! If you are reading this, let me park it on the weekends at your park.
When will the first artists show their work? The only way this will actually happen is if we get the money from Kickstarter. If that happens most likely we could get this rolling before summer.
Do you have any artists lined up? If so, who? I do have a list of artists who I want to show. We will start with Al, as he is the one who really helped spark the idea. After that, it's a surprise. Stay tuned.
