By Amanda Foust
Carmel is known for its Arts and Design District and has always been proud to feature local, national, and even global art forms of all kinds. A new venue called The Warehouse was built to create an atmosphere that will transform entertainment within Carmel.
Owner of The Warehouse, Blair Clark, said, “There will be local and national musicians and there will be shows for anyone interested in music.”
Nicole O’Neal, Director of Operations, expressed that The Warehouse is a multi-use venue primarily for live music but also meant to be used to rent out for parties, meetings and other events. The Warehouse will provide catering and a bar area to renting parties. The space capacity holds 150 people, but the area is versatile enough to host smaller parties comfortably for seated events as well.
The Warehouse is featuring their first event for their soft opening called ART & HARMONY: 1st Inaugural Gallery Show on Saturday, Sept. 13 from 5 to 9 p.m.
Co-owner Heather Clark said, “We are not sure how often we will be doing these events, but our goal is to show the marriage of music and fine arts. We have a list of 20 different artists represented. There is a number of different works from a number of different artists. It will be a very exciting show and it’s free to the public.”
O’Neal said, “There will be such a wide range of art at this show. It is very inspiring to see all the art from our community. We have so many people to showcase here and so many different ways to do it.”
The Clarks are both musically gifted and have spent many days playing second fiddle to the food and drinks within bars and restaurants while they are placed in a corner to perform their music. These experiences inspired The Warehouse venue.
Heather said, “One of the questions we always get from artists is ‘where do I go play?’ In a lot of cases, there aren’t a lot of answers to these questions.”
She has realized that there aren’t a lot of places for musicians to play where they can be the main focus. It is very difficult for many artists trying to get themselves out there to develop, and there are few places that can do it at a level of professionalism The Warehouse is able to offer.
Located at 254 1st Avenue SW, adjacent to the Monon Trail and in between Carmel’s old post office and the old fire station. For more information about The Warehouse and for bookings and rental information, call 661-1760 or visit www.liveforthemusic.com. There is an e-mail list on the website to be notified about events people can sign up for as well as a calendar of future events.
