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The Sullivan Street Galleria de Art in Miami, Arizona is owned by Ray Figueroa.
The Sullivan Street Galleria de Art in Miami, Arizona has been open since October 2015 and by all appearances, it has been quite successful.
“More people are coming to take a look and new artists are stopping by and want to display their work,” said owner Ray Figueroa. “We have been lucky enough to fill the gallery and the artists seem to be happy.”
Ray was born in the old mining town of Morenci, Arizona. His family moved to the Phoenix Valley when he was a kid. He has been in Miami since 1999. Ray came to the area to look for an antique store.
A bird’s eye view of the Sullivan Galleria de Art in Miami, AZ.
“I fell in love with the architecture and the Norman Rockwell scene,” he said.
He ended up buying and restoring four “dilapidated” buildings one in which he lives in. “You can call it a labor of love, a passion so to speak,” he said. The antique store, Mall Emporium is connected to the Galleria de Art and contains many unique items as well as art.
The Galleria is in an old building with a tin roof located on historic Sullivan St. Ray believes it was built around 1915. The building should qualify to be added to the National Register of Historic Places which is something Ray is looking into. It was used as a dry goods store, a men’s store and an upscale haberdashery. Ray transformed it into an antique store and now an art gallery.
The gallery features works from local and other artists. A variety of mediums including stained glass, jewelry, photography, acrylics, pottery and wood carvings are represented in the gallery. Ray is also an artist. He paints with oils and is a photographer. He has just gotten back into his artwork after taking time off for many years. He joked that the only way he could get his art displayed was to buy his own gallery.
Ray speaks highly of the local artists. “There is such a big talent pool in this area that hasn’t been tapped yet. There is something that attracts creative people to this community. One of the people we were happy to get is Marianne Collins. Two other local artists mentioned were Wanda Mitchell-Tucker and Larry Brown. All the artists are friendly and down to earth. I had never done a gallery before. The community of artists came together, they taught me.”
Two local artists that have been instrumental in helping the Galleria get started are photographer Elizabeth Eaton and “artist in residence” Patty Sjolin. Patty has a studio space in the building and displays her art and Elizabeth has been promoting the gallery on Facebook and other media.
“Ray has done wonderful things for local artists,” Elizabeth said. She also has photos displayed in the gallery.
“(The Galleria) has been so much fun,” said Ray. “Our business plan isn’t to make a ton of money. It is a place for artists to show their talent, meet and enjoy themselves. Right now it’s a community type of a shop and it has been really rewarding. It is my dream come true!”
The Sullivan Street Galleria de Art is located at 514 Sullivan St. It is open Thursday through Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery will be closed for the month of August but will return in September.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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