A Capitol Hill building preserved and cared for as an artist cooperative in the 1970s is again making a home for arts along 19th Ave E.

AMcE Creative Arts is now part of the old Pelican Bay Artists’ Building, the 600 block 19th Ave E apartment building with a first floor that has hosted an eclectic mix of retail, cafes, and a theater over the years.

AMcE is a fresh start for founder A. McLean Emenegger after leaving Los Angeles where she was caretaking parents. The past year brought personal and pandemic loss and a move to Seattle, not far from family, to start again and create something relevant and responsive in her new home.

“I’ve run a gallery, I’ve run a nonprofit, I’ve done event planning. This is like a one-stop of all of that,” Emenegger tells CHS.

The new 19th Ave E gallery and arts space is designed as a venue for rotating exhibitions, group and solo shows but also arts events and gatherings. It’s a key, central element for Emenegger — “Programming with artists and artists talks, nonprofits, workshops, provides everyone with access to the arts,” she says. “It really builds community.

In addition to its main exhibition space, AMcE features a “Niche Market” with smaller works from local and national artists.

And the main exhibition area provides featured artists the opportunity to stretch. AMcE’s debut featured artist Anne Austin Pearce created a 50-foot installation of Icarus, inspired by the space available to fill in the gallery. It’s the kind of project Emenegger dreams of for AMcE — an established artist inspired to experiment, create something that is likely not sellable, and connect it to events and the community. In August, AMcE will host a day for visitors to make their own Icarus renderings as part of the Seattle Deconstructed Art Fair in August.

“Artists that cross over with programming are also likely to make the greatest connection,” Emenegger said.

AMcE fills a space emptied by the pandemic shutdown of the Ritual House of Yoga studio last summer. The other half of the yoga studio space is currently the temporary home for Fuel Coffee while the 19th Ave E shop undergoes a facelift under new ownership as part of the Ada’s family of cafes and book shops.

Emenegger said opening on this quiet side of Capitol Hill has been a nice early reward in the venture with curious neighbors stopping by to say hi or peer in the window. Emenegger invites passersby inside to see the art up close and check out the space. AMcE currently keeps Thursday through Sunday operating hours, intentionally open on Sundays, typically an off day for galleries, Emenegger says, so people in the industry can come through.

As for the history of the Pelican Bay Artists’ Building, there may be future inspiration from the past. The building’s south wall along what is now Rocket Taco used to feature a huge relief map of a fantasy depiction of a never-existed topography. That “City in the Sky” had to be removed due to concerns about structural integrity. With AMcE bringing new arts life to the building, there’s now a space for new inspiration to play out.

AMcE Creative Arts is now open at 612 19th Ave E with exhibitions underway and arts programming expected to ramp up in August. You can learn more and keep track of updates at amcecreativearts.com.

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