Las Manos is not ready to shut down. The gallery increases the value of this neighborhood and provides a great deal of support to many people. We feel this assault on culture should not be allowed to happen! Please join us in trying to turn the tables on this horrible situation- consider writing a sentence or two in opposition
to this forced closing.
Thank you for the support over the years,
Owner Michelle Peterson-Albandoz & Las Manos Gallery Artists
Email us your support:
mail@lasmanosgallery.com
Letters from Supporters:
I am writing as a member of the Andersonville business community
and as a volunteer for an organization, called Engineers Without Borders, to
attempt to persuade you to re-new an affordable lease for
Michelle Peterson-Albandoz and the Las Manos Gallery at 5220 North
Clark. This gallery is one of the unique reasons that
the Andersonville neighborhood is so distinctive and worth inhabiting and
visiting. They are a business that creates culture and character that
draws so much foot traffic and profitability for it's business
neighbors, who go to this neighborhood for things, like this gallery, that can
NOT be found anywhere else, then eat in local restaurants and continue to
shop locally. I know of another local business on Clark that
moved in partially as a result of the "design community" atmosphere
that Las Manos has helped to create. If this lynchpin gallery were
to move, other restaurants and retail stores that Cagan manages will also
likely suffer a loss of revenue. Quality arts groups, like
Las Manos, embellish and ennoble their communities in ways
that can not be accounted for directly, until their loss is felt in
underserved neighborhoods. There is a symbiotic economic relationship
which Las Manos creates within its community that can not be understood when
one just considers eliminating one business for the profits of another.
People can get a Starbucks coffee anywhere, but this is an
extremely high quality enterprise that is committed to being a positive
resource for the arts, artists and a larger community. Through the
volunteer efforts of Michelle Peterson-Albandoz, Mieke Zuiderweg at the gallery
and the charity of a stable of over 20 professional artist
associates that donated work for a silent auction in May, our Chicagoland
Chapter of Engineers Without Borders was able to raise over $6,800 for an
international clean water program, for which we volunteer. If this
gallery were to leave this neighborhood, organizations like ours have lost an
ally that we could not recover. Starbuck's can not replace this wonderful
business. Can you understand what a remarkable act of effort and
generosity that Ms. Peterson-Albandoz made for our group this year and casually
continues to make for other charities in the city? Wouldn't you wish to
find a way to allow this tenant to continue to operate and benefit all
businesses and residents of this community? What if your profit margins
for a new tenant were to increase marginally? Is that a reason to terminate
such a civic-minded business? Does your building owner only know the cost
of things, but the value of nothing?
I ask that you please consider negotiating further with Ms.
Peterson-Albandoz on the lease to keep the North Clark community unique and
vital.
Thank You,
Jim Hall
The Hicks Architectural Group
Assistant Adjunct Professor, Illinois Institute of Technology
Volunteer, Engineers Without Borders Chicagoland Chapter
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I understand from Michelle Peterson-Albandoz that Cagan Realty has declined to renew the Las Manos lease. Las Manos has been a vital part of Andersonville since 1998, and its contributions reach far beyond simple commerce: scores of artists show their work at Las Manos, and for many of them,
Las Manos is their main if not sole source of income, and Las Manos is a rare outpost of art on the North side. Peterson-Albandoz employs architects and designers and other professionals. The many events that take place at Las Manos bring people from all over the city, and whether they buy art or not, they fan out into Andersonville and support its businesses when they visit. Las Manos also has raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities both close to home and around the globe.
Given that Las Manos seems to fit so squarely within the intent of the recently released Cultural Plan and actually has operated for years as a bellwether, I'm reaching out to you now to ask for your leadership and advocacy in endeavoring to persuade Cagan to rethink its position and renew the Las Manos lease.
Susana Darwin
President
West Andersonville Neighbors Together
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I cannot think of
gallery with a more interesting roster of artist -- both well established and
new -- and I cannot imagine a better use of the space. Or a better addition to
a neighborhood.
Chuck Thurow
Executive Director, retired
Hyde Park Art Center
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Andersonville has long been upheld as an example of one of the
truly unique neighborhoods in Chicago: eclectic, diverse, cultural and
welcoming. Part of the charm for me, a relocated New Yorker, is that
neighborhood feel that comes from the mix of generations. Andersonville thrives
because it has not lost its connection to its Swedish roots, yet has managed to
attract artists, designers and restaurants.
I do not pretend to know the financial or business relationship
between Las Manos Gallery and its landlord, yet barring a complete breakdown in
communication or long term lack of payment of rent, I cannot see any true gains
for either Cagan management or the city of Chicago. With so many businesses
closing, with dozens of empty store fronts throughout our region, why add to
the downturn? Having a thriving, vibrant business gives the appearance of
succes even in times of fnancial stress. Surely, as business and development
people, you can see the advantage of this kind of advertising. The gallery is
also a primary source of income for many of those that shop in surrounding
stores, eat at the local restaurants. Dry up their income, and your neighbors
go down, too.
I urge you to reconsider your decision not to renew the lease for
Las Manos Gallery. Work with Michelle. Ask the city for guidance. Keep
Andersonville from becoming a suburban strip mall, and instead support your
neighborhoods diversity.
Rita Grendze
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It is very sad
that I hear today of your unwillingness to renew the lease for Michelle and Los
Manos Gallery. I have shopped in her gallery since its earliest days and some
of my favorite art hanging on my walls and the walls of dear friends has come
from her gallery---and specifically from her hands.
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Michelle has been a breath of fresh air for Andersonville and has
been steady in her support of the neighborhood and her fellow business owners.
She’s never had a bad word to say about anyone in our community and the loss of
her gallery would be tragic to say the least.
Please consider art for art’s sake…but also consider the vibe she’s
helped to create along this street and reconsider your decision. Please renew
her lease so she may continue the good fight!
Long Live Las Manos!
Respectfully,
Paul Dooley
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I am shocked and
dismayed by the possibility of Las Manos closing. The gallery provides a
welcome respite and a diverse contribution to the neighborhood. It is unique to
have a neighborhood gallery of such quality and talented stable of artists. It
would be a sad statement on the gentrification of Andersonville if one of the
pioneers and supporters of the neighborhood were forced to close!
In support of Las Manos!!
Michael Calogero
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I
am appalled to hear that this long time cultural establishment is being ousted
of its current home for what will most likely be an establishment that offers
no real creative outlet for the artist in the area. The denizens of not only
Andersonville but all the neighborhoods in Chicago will be losing an incredible
gallery that has hosted substantial and significant artists and large scale
exhibits. For many people, this a local way to immerse themselves in art and in
the lives of the artists not only in their community but surrounding
neighborhoods as well. I urge you to please find a way to keep this gallery
open. In an era where our history is being uprooted and erased in exchange for
a quick buck, it will become clearer to us the sacrifice we've made for maximizing
profit but comprising character at which point it will be too late.
Thank
you for your consideration on this matter.
Adriana
Heredia
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Writing in support of
Las Manos. It would be a terrible loss to the neighborhood if the gallery
were to close. I truly look forward to every exhibit and Las Manos is a
destination for me coming from the western suburbs. I find the work to be
uniquely interesting and surprising. It is always a pleasure to see
what's new and gallery staff are always helpful, welcoming and lovely.
Las Manos adds immensely to the Andersonville business district, in my
opinion, and such galleries that show "accessible" fine art are few
and far between anywhere! Please don't leave.
Sincerely - Nancy Hejna
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Las Manos Gallery has
been my Chicago favorite since I moved here 5 years ago. You and I have met and
talked several times between openings and my being a frequent visitor.
I'm a local metalsmith and an elementary art teacher in Skokie.
Michelle Beatrice
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I am shocked and dismayed that Las Manos Gallery is being forced to move! I am positive that Las Manos has infinitely more fans than Cagan and is infinitely more of an asset to Andersonville! I'm sure that you are aware that Las Manos is an attraction and destination point for many, many Chicagoans and tourists who otherwise would be unlikely to visit Andersonville. It was one of the earliest of the unique galleries and shops that now populate Andersonville. It has, for years, continued to be an anchor of the Andersonville community and a catalyst for its growth. The gallery embodies and defines the qualities that are special about the neighborhood. I, for one, cannot imagine Andersonville without Las Manos, and am unlikely to continue to be a regular visitor to the neighborhood.
In addition to its enormous value to Andersonville, Las Manos is an invaluable, respected and beloved part of the art community in Chicago. It supports, exhibits, inspires and mentors dozens of artists. Through Las Manos, talented artists who otherwise would be unknown, have gained recogntion and success. It is unthinkable that the gallery might not survive. What a loss to the entire Chicago art community!
I do not know if Cagan owns the building. If so, SHAME ON YOU!!! If not, Cagan should have taken a leadership role in persuading the owner of the value of this tenant to the entire community, and Cagan should have been instrumental in mediating an economic deal which wouldbe acceptable to the owner.
I, for one, am willing to invest whatever time necessary to be sure that tenants of other Cagan buildings, as well as any future tenant of the Las Manos space, know the harm that you are inflicting on the community. I will make it a personal goal to see that Cagan will suffer from this outrage even more that Las Manos.
Lora Sanberg
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Today in a Toronto gallery, a couple of Chicago residents boasted proudly to me about the quality of contemporary and conceptual work at Las Manos Gallery. So much so that it warranted my doing an internet search. It is definitely a galley space that I hope to one day visit and maybe even exhibit. News travels quickly—hoping to hear some good news about your gallery's lease renewal.
Best wishes,
Angela
