Art Galleries in Pioneer Place Are Getting Pushed Out to Make Way for a New Store

Mark Woolley and other art galleries have five weeks to move out of their third-floor space.

You can't buy fine art at the mall anymore.

The Mark Woolley Gallery and the three other art galleries located on the third floor of Pioneer Place Mall are closing by April 30 to make way for renovations and a new tenant.

The other galleries are People's Art of Portland, AIR gallery, and One Der Gallery. Mall management has not yet announced which store will replace the galleries.

"We knew we were getting a great deal," Woolley says of his month-to-month lease at the mall, which he said came with relatively low rent.

Exactly four years ago, Woolley opened his mall gallery after a period curating pop-up art shows. He closed his last permanent space—a gallery on SW 2nd Avenue—in 2009 due to the economic downturn.

"We're all art professionals, so we're not freaking out," he tells WW. "You can look around Portland and see that the climate that allowed us that great deal doesn't exist anymore. Hopefully, that also means there's more people buying fine art."

The galleries were given five weeks to vacate their space.

One Der Gallery/PoBoy Framing owner Jason Brown had just finished moving in after losing his frame shop space in Southeast, according to Woolley. One Der Gallery's grand-opening party was Nov. 17, less than five months ago.

"The hardest thing is calling people and telling them that the next show won't happen," says Woolley.

The galleries will host a "final countdown" party beginning at 5 pm Saturday, April 16—the party will be open to the public.

Future plans are up in the air for Woolley, who says he might do pop-ups again, or just move to New York.

"I've thought about pairing with my friends who moved to New York," he said. "Even a little tiny space on the Lower East Side is way more than Portland, but it's a pie in the sky."

photo from Mark Woolley Gallery Facebook Page courtesy Mark Woolley Gallery FB

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