Cutting Edge

At the corner of Lincoln and Bellevue avenues, on the cusp of the South Side, an idea is growing, and on Saturday, May 12, the buds will burst. The inaugural event will feature nearly 20 artists showcasing music, visual art, photography and more from 7 p.m. to midnight at 250 Lincoln Ave.
It might seem like an unlikely spot to toss an art gallery called VersuS (the second “s” is capitalized, so when put together, the capitalized letters form “VS.”), but co-curators Jonathan Cantrell and Michael John Heagerty have worked purposefully to create a place for art with fully developed direction. The hope is that the gallery will serve as a growing and evolving place for artists to showcase and for ideas to spark, all in a location outside of their normal comfort zone.

When Cantrell, who landed in Syracuse seven years ago, bought the building five years back, he had a few ideas about making the space something beneficial for the community. He thought about a restaurant or some kind of incubator for entrepreneurs, but wondered if the ideas would be sustainable in that neighborhood. The thought of an art gallery occurred, but once Cantrell and Heagerty teamed up, the project hit fast-forward.

“I was making new friends in the art community about a year ago and Mike and I hit it off,” Cantrell says. “I ran it {the idea} by a few other people in the Syracuse art community, but Mike was really the only person that was like, ‘Oh, I gotta see this space.’ I walked him through and he’s like, ‘Whoa, this looks great. I really think we could do something.’”
Considering the condition of the 20,000-square-foot building at the time--uninhabitable, dirty, dark and in need of an absolutely massive face-lift--Heagerty’s vote of confidence was a major turning point in the gallery’s birth. From there, the duo formulated the name and mission behind the gallery, which will open 3,000 square feet of the total space on Saturday, and Heagerty drew heavily from his prior experience kick-starting The Gear Factory, an art gallery and rehearsal space that sits at the corner of South Geddes and West Fayette streets, in another marginal neighborhood.
“Being the person I am, if I set a date, I’m gonna really crunch to make it happen,” Cantrell says. “I said, ‘Let’s look at a date six weeks from now and let’s do it and see what happens.’ So he {Heagerty} got on board and now we’re close to 20 artists.”
Heagerty shares the same forceful drive and confidence in the project, which has been completely financed by Cantrell. “We just set the date and went,” Heagerty says. “And I picked that date specifically to show that an event held on one of the busiest weekends in Syracuse, with Syracuse University graduation and everything else, can still be successful.”
With only days left until the event, Cantrell is working tirelessly to get the building into shape with a plan to open more rooms; each exhibit will be up for six to eight weeks. On Saturday, several rooms on the bottom floor as well as the basement will be ready for art and for visitors. The next gallery event, which will be announced on May 12, will open more rooms and more opportunities, resulting in more art on display.
Another facet to the pair’s attack plan includes giving artists royal treatment. First up is the fact that applying to show at the gallery is free. Further, with his professional experience, Heagerty took all the marketing and promotion on singlehandedly, compiling an easy-to-go-viral campaign at Facebook.com/SkillVSCraft. Artists will be given special treatment at each event, including exclusive promotional items, and will be kept in mind for future galleries as their art evolves. A later goal even includes housing artists-in-residence using the gallery’s ample space. And all of this will not only benefit the artists, but the community at large.

“It’s a rough area over there,” Heagerty says. “We want to direct attention there and what’s going on in that community.” It also adds significance to the gallery’s name: VersuS.

“There is always conflict in everything and competition,” Cantrell explains. “So at the gallery, being in that location specifically, we thought we could really hone in on conflicts and competition. All of our shows are going to have icons, so they’re a little bit interesting. The icons {now} are salt on one side vs. a golden gun. That’s up for interpretation. It’s supposed to get people to think. The salt could represent the Salt City. And the gun could represent the neighborhood that we’re putting the gallery in. It’s almost like art vs. the neighborhood. Everything is a conflict, but it’s also supposed to be a beautiful picture of how they can all work together.”
This Saturday, the question will be confronted when art enters the community in a strong way. Artists including Harmani Owens (paintings), Ty Marshal (installations), Kristie Hayes (mixed media), Eddie Colleli (photography) and more will showcase while musicians including Liz Strodel, ToTs (Heagerty’s hip-hop alter ego) and more will perform. Food will be available for purchase from Lost in Fondue, a restaurant Cantrell is currently starting in Skaneateles, and The Sweet Praxis; beer will be provided by Empire Brewing. Entry, food and drink are all free to the public. For more information, visit
Facebook.com/SkillVSCraft.