MAY 2004
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The Warehouse IssuePeople & PlacesGo To: Bicas • Metroform • Steve Eye • Bicas
BICAS also sells and rents out a variety of quality, reconditioned, used bikes at reasonable prices. If prices don’t seem reasonable enough, a work-trade agreement can be made. Art is a main focus of BICAS. The cooperative has a custom metal works shop, where trained artists can weld sculptures, bike racks, trash can dispensers, gates and anything else that could possibly be made out of old bike parts. Some of these pieces can be seen at the BICAS Art Auctions, on 4th Avenue, and various other places around the Old Pueblo. “Anything you see around town made out of bike parts was probably made at BICAS,” says Mario Lizarazu, sales and repair staff member. BICAS has a “fully-stocked stash ‘o’ parts for sale” and a full-service repair shop with space available for rent by the hour, day, week or month. Open to the public Tuesday through Friday from noon to 7:00pm, and Saturdays from 10:00am to 6:00pm. —Ruby Williams Metroform LimitedMetroform Limited opened in January of 2000 in the heart of Downtown Tucson, by local designer and artist D. Scott Baker. Since then, the gallery has moved to the Historic Warehouse District and has become the only gallery in Tucson dedicated solely to the exhibition and sale of fine art photography by contemporary and emerging artists. Metroform Limited represents local artists like Stu Jenks and J Keith Schreiber, as well as a growing number of established and internationally known photographers such as Jesse Alexander, Maggie Taylor, and Antonin Kratochvil. By design the gallery is a comfortable environment, accessible to both the experienced and novice collector. Gallery staff is on hand weekdays, or by appointment, to assist you, whether you are purchasing photography for the first time, starting a corporate or residential collection, or adding to an existing collection. Metroform Limited is located at 110 E. Sixth St. Phone: 882-6606. www.metroformlimited.com
Steve EyeSteve Eye and his space Solar Culture are at the heart of the Toole Avenue warehouses, bringing more familiarity to the area than any other tenant. Several times a month, Eye hosts some of the most cutting-edge, “independent” musicians from around the world, at the City’s only smoke-free, all-ages venue, filling a great musical void at the same time. Eye also contributes to Tucson’s tangible, real-world art community with his open calls to artists. Three times a year, Eye accepts any and all artwork submitted for display, and takes no commission (Next open call May 11-13, Opening Reception May 15, 6:00 - 9:00pm).
“Corky Poster’s plans give the City leaders the key that can help to unlock one of the great mysteries of Tucson, how do we revitalize the downtown.” Eye would like to see the artists remain active in the process and management of the spaces. “If the City gives the artists the management control of the warehouse district, and implements (Poster’s) plans, then the artists will give the City everything that it dreams about revitalizing the downtown, and more....that is a promise.” Although Eye and his space is one reason so many people come to the Warehouse District now, he looks forward to the potential numbers of people coming downtown. “Just think how many people come downtown to see the fireworks. Music and art events can be celebrated everyday, and we don’t have to wait for a once-a-year holiday to get excited about going downtown.” —Jennifer Nichols Anne-Marie RussellAnne-Marie Russell, Executive Director and Curator of Tucson’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is fiercely inspired to keep MOCA and Toole Avenue a vital part of Downtown Tucson and the Arts District. “MOCA is an anchor in the warehouse arts district. We are the professional, public face of the district. The extraordinary artists who live and work in the district are the roots of the district, but MOCA is what you see on the surface, what the community and visitors to Tucson encounter. This will be the case for many generations to come. We are building this institution for the long term, with a ‘seventh generation’ ethic, as a public trust to benefit the people of Tucson.” 
MOCA’s recent battle with the City over a Certificate of Occupancy for the museum has left Russell and the staff sleepless, she says. Currently they are working with the City and have been assured MOCA will not be shut down if they continue with the process. But they find themselves operating under an occupancy limit of 99 people and a 30-day lease, with no security. Despite these significant setbacks, Russell still maintains hope the City will recognize the value of MOCA to the Tucson community. “I am confident that the City of Tucson will eventually see how important MOCA is to the economic and cultural success of Downtown Tucson. I just hope MOCA doesn’t disappear in the meantime … We have phenomenal support from citizens in Tucson, but we need more concrete support from the City. “A museum is a partnership between members of the community, the government, developers and the business community, and the board and staff,” adds Russell, “This is not a zero-sum game. All of us benefit if we collaborate and participate.” Russell believes that City decision-makers are beginning to acknowledge that the economic health of a city is directly related to the health of its cultural institutions. A city’s well-being, says Russell, “is incumbent upon cultivating creative, innovative thinkers in all fields. There is no better institution poised to do that than a contemporary art museum ... MOCA is the nexus for dynamic people to come together and create community—and to ultimately establish Tucson as a major center of innovation and creativity.” —Karen Falkenstrom and Jennifer Nichols Zee’sHundreds of foreign gems, minerals and fossils have flooded Zee’s for fifteen years. The historic warehouse had never housed anything so valuable.
After WWII, P Surplus, and Army/Navy store, took over for about thirty years. The Arizona Theatre Company housed its sets in the warehouse until Zee took over in 1989. “Zee picked it because of the location,” says Colin Cople, sales manager. “This is a very popular intersection.” Since the move, Zee has traveled all over the world in pursuit of minerals, fossils, meteorites, gems, and a variety of artifacts, which eventually make there way to the 11,000 square foot warehouse. Paintings, sculptures, and other art on consignment weren’t seen at Zee’s Minerals until about five or six years ago. Since then, Zee’s customers have diversified. “We have a cross-pollination of people coming in here to buy one thing, and seeing things they never thought they could discover down here,” Cople says. “There are a lot of hidden treasures down in this little area of Tucson that a lot of people don’t even know exist. They just need to come down and explore it.” —Ruby Williams
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Downtown Tucson has one of the most unique bicycle cooperatives in the nation. The Bicycle Inter Community Art and Salvage (BICAS) is a non-profit bicycle recycling center that provides classes that teach people how to repair and make art from used bicycle parts.
As for the warehouse plan, Eye is hopeful of the process thus far. “The fact that there actually is a City-sponsored planning process for the warehouse area gives me lots of hope that the City has finally seen that we are indeed a vital and vibrant fully developing community already blossoming in the heart of the downtown.
Built in 1924, 1 E. Toole was one of many Chinese grocery stores in Tucson at that time. The freshest meats and produce were unloaded from the train and sold directly to the public, which gave the building a lot of business.
“We have this creative energy and people want it. People are really looking to be inspired. And we have a lot of inspirational ideas in this area. Art is really something that is a lifestyle. It’s deep. Everyone feels alive. It gives people hope.” Shaper adds, “The arts district is like a think tank.” He notes that people tend to forget that creativity requires a space in which to happen. “We need a new way of looking at how we germinate our ideas and nurture our thoughts.”