Downtown getting ‘phantom gallery’

In an effort to beautify vacant storefronts and increase the presence of art, some empty buildings in downtown Baton Rouge will become “phantom galleries.” Many large cities have phantom galleries, where artists hang up their work in the windows of empty buildings. The first phantom gallery downtown is in the old Richoux’s/Dante’s building at the corner of Third and Florida streets, says Gabe Vicknair, special events and marketing coordinator for the Downtown Development District. Some of Cassidy Breaux’s paintings are on the windows facing Third Street; plans are in the works to add paintings by Christopher Turner, T.J. Black and Alexander Harvie over the next few weeks. “We want to improve the look and feel of the street,” says Vicknair, who says he’s taking an inventory of other vacant spaces downtown to find those that might be suitable for displaying paintings. “We’re hoping this will help spark some interest, to get some of those buildings back into commerce,” he says. —Timothy Boone