Photo by Sarah Owens
Art Alley Gallery has showcased original work in Edgewood since 2000. The gallery will close Sept. 20 after 25 years in the community.
For 25 years, Art Alley Gallery has stood quietly in the heart of Edgewood — a warm, light-filled space where original artwork and real conversation always took center stage. This fall, the gallery will close its doors for the final time.
“It’s just come to a time in our life where now we have nine grandchildren,” said owner Jim Smith. “We have a set of 4-month-old twins. So we just want to spend more time with family and each other.”
Photo by Sarah Owens
Owner Jim Smith opened Art Alley after leaving corporate life, building a space known for personal connection, local art and lasting relationships.
Smith, who opened the gallery in 2000 after leaving a corporate job that kept him on the road, built Art Alley on the belief that art was meant to be personal — and approachable. “We never did any prints, no reproductions of any kind,” he said. “We’ve tried to stay true to who we were.”
As Smith bids the shop farewell, he reflected on what made the space special:
“To our community of collectors, art lovers and curious wanderers who walked through our doors — you made this gallery alive,” Smith said. “Your enthusiasm, your questions, your willingness to be moved by art — you were never just visitors. You helped sustain not just our business, but our belief in art’s essential role in our lives.”
Inside its walls, Art Alley hosted work from across the Southeast and far beyond — including artists in London and Canada, and they even shipped work to collectors in Ukraine and Russia. Yet its heartbeat was always local. “We love Homewood, and just wanted to really bring something to the community,” said Smith. “Back then, Edgewood was very tired and sleepy, and all this stuff hadn’t started happening. When I think about when we started what was around — Trilogy Leather and Edgewood Frame Shop, and then us — everything else is new down here. We’ve seen it grow and we’ve seen it change. We’ve seen it evolve to what it is today. But we’re really grateful for the artists that supported our gallery, because it was all developed on relationships.”
It’s those relationships Smith said he’ll miss the most — the conversations, the curiosity, the artists and return customers who became friends.
Smith attributes their success to the artists who trusted Art Alley with their creations.
“From emerging artists taking their first brave steps into the art world to established creators who honored us with your creations, you filled our walls with beauty that lifted spirits and opened minds,” said Smith.
The shop will close on Sept. 20, and Smith aims to sell as much inventory as possible before the final day.
As that day nears, Smith is clear-eyed — and grateful.
“Art Alley may be closing,” he said, “but the connections we’ve made, the art we’ve championed and the community we’ve built together — these live on.”
Visitors can explore the gallery’s final offerings Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. until the close date.
