Art Shop Too brightens downtown Battle Creek

Officials with the Art Center of Battle Creek are painting a brighter picture for downtown Battle Creek with the May 3 opening of a satellite gift shop and smaller exhibit area at 80 W. Michigan Avenue.Linda Holderbaum, executive director of the Art Center, says road construction in front of the organization’s East Emmett Street location prompted the opening of the downtown shop and exhibit area, known as Art Shop Too.The shop will feature the work of 170 Michigan artists, some of whom live in the Battle Creek area.A reception on May 2 for downtown merchants to welcome their new neighbor will precede the opening to the general public the following day. Store hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.Holderbaum says the move will enable patrons to avoid the road construction and make it easier for them to access the Art Center’s shop. The move to the downtown is a temporary one, but there is no set date to leave the new site. A seven-block area of roadway along Emmett from Fremont Street to McKinley Avenue is scheduled to be closed until mid-September for street, sidewalk, water and sewer work.As part of a deal worked out between the Art Center and Battle Creek Unlimited, the arts organization will not pay rent for the previously vacant West Michigan Avenue property and will pay only those utility costs which go above what BCU previoulsy has paid to maintain the storefront.Holderbaum says downtown workers or those with a receipt from a downtown eatery will receive a 10 percent discount on gift shop purchases.For more information about the Art Center of Battle Creek, call (269) 962-9511 or visit their Web site. Writer: Jane ParikhSource: Linda Holderbaum, Art Center of Battle Creek