FARMINGTON – The future of a young grassroots gallery and arts studios in Farmington is in limbo as its home may be turned into a restaurant.

The NOW Gallery and Studios is located in the Knowlton-McCleery Building at 107 Church St.

Edward Martin, owner of Quad M’s, is hoping to buy the building from longtime owner Margaret Hodgkins to relocate his restaurant there. This week, the Farmington Planning Board approved his application. He’ll find out about the financing sometime soon.

For now, the gallery staff has taken down its last exhibit and suspended hanging anymore until they knows for certain what’s to become of the space.

“I am really, really sad,” said Claire Turlo, who helped write the grant that allowed the space to be renovated into a gallery. “It was really coming into its own.”

In addition to the four-room gallery, which hosted the work of community and student artists since opening last May, there is also endless studio space available for rent to local artists.

At a cost of between $20 and $50 a month for space, it couldn’t be beat, said Joe Moceus, who used the space for sculpture, painting and drawing and also helped collect rents from artists.

Eighteen artists are currently renting bays. Many are University of Maine at Farmington students.

“If the building is sold, we are going to have to move out,” Moceus said Wednesday.

Artists have tentatively been given a March 1 move-out date, but say they are awaiting word as to whether Martin gets the financing or not.

“It’s too bad, but these things happen. We knew all along it was always a possibility,” he said.

Everything for both the studio and the gallery is up in the air now, and although glassblower Josh DeMello would prefer not to lose the space, if it’s going to go to anyone, he said, he is glad it’s Martin.

“He is a wicked nice guy who runs a great business. It’d be nice to see someone succeed who really deserves to,” DeMello said of the Quad M’s owner. “It’s going to be an incredible loss, but if someone with a vision like Ed comes in, it might be a good trade off.”

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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