Hi — I'm Irfan Mahmood. I live and work here in Ann Arbor, and every July I watch half a million people flood our streets for three days of art. Then the booths come down, the artists from Tucson and Tampa fly home, and Ann Arbor's own artists go back to selling from Instagram and waiting for next July.
That gap is what a2gallery is for: a New York-style gallery with Midwestern economics — a permanent downtown space where a local artist gets a real, marketed, two-week solo feature, and keeps three-quarters of every sale.
The gallery keeps 25% of sales and ticket revenue from community events. That keeps the lights on. Artists pay nothing, ever — the incentive alignment is the whole point: we only make money when your art sells.
Space: being finalized downtown, announced in August. First cohort installs September 1–7; the opening community viewing is September 7, 2026. Founding artists are joining now — and shaping the place with us.
Questions, ideas, skepticism — all welcome: imahmood@bsolpk.org
Join as a founding artist