There are great seismic shifts in the realms of the arts presently, and many of them are taking place in the Boston area. It is no secret that the creative economy is the foundation and cornerstone for the building up of once difficult and avoidable parts of the city into thriving and desirable destinations. The SoWa Art + Design District is one of those areas. The last 20 years have seen infinitesimal changes, and the momentum keeps growing and morphing, both reflecting trends in creative output as well as maintaining a bottom line of recognizable gallery structures.

When Marie Craig and Cheryl Clinton brought Fountain Street to Boston in 2017, it had already had six years under their care in Framingham, in a large space in a converted mill building that rapidly fell out of code to the point that the gallery and the artists whose studios were based there were forced to move.

It was then that Craig and Clinton decided to bring the gallery to the SoWa District in Boston, where it has occupied a large exhibition space and has attracted a diverse audience of artists and collectors alike. With its vast success, both aesthetically and as a very important component of the Boston gallery world, the recent announcement by Craig of the closing of this vibrant exhibition space was an unexpected rip in the space/time of the Boston art community.

In parallel to the bright and magnetic qualities of the gallery, it is closing on a similar optimistic and positive note. It is like a perfect soufflé, every step of it carefully attuned to the beginning, middle and end. Craig did exactly what she set out to do. In her words, it was a “great run,” and she feels it is now time for new gallerists to step up and find their footing. She considers herself extremely fortunate, loving the work, the artists and the community.

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