Murphy Art Center

The Murphy Arts Center has gone from one of my favorite places to spend every First Friday, to a place that isn’t worth walking into, and this all happened within about a year worth of time.
The building has no lack of great restaurants that sit in the bottom floor, and that same space also holds some neat galleries and great places to see live music. Those things aren’t really what I would consider as part of the Arts Center. The space that I am reviewing is the 2^nd and 3^rd floors, which for the last few years that I have been visiting this place have hosted a large number of awesome studios, great music venues, and a lively crowd. Now, it’s almost entirely shut doors, empty rooms, and the majority of the people wandering around here look like they are using it as the last refuge for the too-​cool-​for-​society hipsters who are losing their space in Fountain Square to the quickly growing amazing new restaurants and bars that are now appealing to a more young professionals crowd. If you want to walk through the hallways of a neat old building with a bunch of people in skinny jeans drinking PBR, then you will still enjoy it, but outside of that, it has lost the majority of its appeal to me.
There are still a few galleries hanging onto to what once was, and hopefully it will receive a new breath of life as quickly as the last one seemed to disappear so that these few remaining places aren’t left all alone. There are also still a couple places that have some interesting live music during the First Fridays of each month. I can’t say that the music is always what I am into, but it’s a neat place to see a new band. And of course, we can’t forget about PUP still being stationed here in this building. Even though there are still this handful of businesses to visit, my real disappointment comes from the fact that only a year or two ago, every door in the building was open, and they attracted big crowds to check out all of the art that was displayed throughout the variety of different studio rooms. I don’t know if it was an ownership change, a culture shift in the area, or just the natural circle of life for a place like this, but it happened quickly and I hope it isn’t the end of a place as cool as this was.
I’ll hopefully be able to revisit this review with an update saying that things have turned around, but until then, my visits are going to much fewer and farther between than they once were.

It’s incredible how one place can go through so many evolutions in just a decade or two, but the Murphy has done that and somehow limped along. In the early days, it was struggling to get a foothold on the Indy art scene but with a few events and some PR in the local press, it eventually found a place in many residents’ hearts. During the 90s the center was, in my opinion, at it’s height. There were three solid galleries, several well-​known artists and — even with the lack of overall management or cohesiveness — a lot of well-​attended Friday and Saturday full-​building openings. But, as all things must, the Murphy then went through a downward spiral right after the 2003 – 2004 seasons. All of the ground-​floor galleries shut down and left, never to be replaced by anything coming close to their former brightness (unless you count IMOCA, which is a museum, not a gallery). And, most importantly, the crowd noticeably shifted from a nice mix of 20-​somethings, family-​oriented older adults and empty-​nesters (who actually purchase art) to a throng of faux goth, club kids, outcasts and misfits who basically came for whatever free entertainment they could find. The anti-​establishment piercings, tattoos, attitudes and other baggage scared off the well-​heeled clientele and any hope of the Murphy ever getting back as a solid place to see or purchase great art. What the future holds is anyone’s guess, but unless they attract some solid gallery blood, it’s looking pretty dim.

The Murphy building. The beating heart of Fountain Square. Pumping fresh, creative juices into neighborhood progress. This old-​school five & dime superstore is now home to local organizations, artists, bars and restaurants that help promote urban development in the community.
One day, I was in the square posting flyers and noticed the back doors had flyers in them. Upon entering, there’s a hallway leading to Pure Eatery and a long hallway to my right. Curious. I made my way down the hallway and found a door in the left labeled «Hi-​Fi — be prepared to show ID». At the end, you find another entrance to Red Lion Grog House. Then there was another door…
A stairwell leading to the second floor. I climbed the creaking wooden stairs. Upon reaching the top, there’s another hallway of studios marked with address numbers, similar to those found on houses. Each door representing a unique front. Next room, a gallery of contemporary art pieces. A vintage armchair and an old rotary phone that still works. Curiouser and curiouser! Keep going. You’ll find the People for Urban Progress (PUP) studio, Blackline Studio, and some more places to set out postcards and flyers.
Keep an eye out, kids! You never know what kind of adventures are awaiting you around the next corner.