CORRECTION: This story was updated at 4:05 p.m. on Dec. 9 to correct the location of the gallery in the fifth paragraph.
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Kevin Bate is well aware that not everyone shares his vision for Immersion Gallery, a new art space he will open Friday on Broad Street.
Bankers he went to for loans and even some of the artists he invited to be part of the gallery have struggled, he said, to understand how he intends to mix paintings with tools such as hammers and wrenches, with display skeletons, live music and curios.
"I want people to think of it as an experience," he said while giving a tour of the space.
Bate might be familiar to people as the artist who painted the "Fallen Five" mural on McCallie Avenue, but he works in a variety of mediums, which he plans to display at Immersion.
Bate has been working on the gallery concept for several years and has been physically building the space next to the High Point Climbing wall on Broad Street for the past year. He’s built walls, ceilings, furniture, display cases, a greenhouse and nearly every other item inside the gallery.
(READ MORE: Artist behind 'Fallen Five' mural gives nighttime presentation on painting)
He's also done several of the pieces on display. Where some art galleries might have a single piece of art on an entire wall, Immersion has hundreds of pieces on display.
"I want you to be able to come in here and spend as much time as you want looking at just one area or all of it," he said. "And, when you come back, we will have moved some stuff around and maybe even closed off doorways."
He said he might put round things together in one space and then pair portraits together a few days later in the same area. Everything in the gallery has been curated by Bate. Alexa Lett has been in charge of "set dressing" the displays, he said.
Bate chose each of the 22 artists based on their works and how they would fit in the display and his vision for Immersion. Their works will be on display Friday and for about the next three months at Immersion.
"I started thinking about this really during the pandemic, and I kept up with other people's work the whole time," he said. "We are repping the particular pieces more than the artist."
(READ MORE: Art as illusion/illusion as art: See Kevin Bate's work on display this Friday)
That was something that appealed to local artist Miki Boni. She said she has five oil-on-canvas pieces in the gallery and is glad to have been included.
"I'm thrilled to be involved with anything with Kevin," she said by phone. "He's a magnificant artist and an incredible creative, and this fits into my world."
She admitted she didn't quite get the concept initially but does now and loves how unusual it is.
"For me the concept is unique. We'll see how it turns out, but I think it's great," she said. "There is nothing like that anywhere else. I hope it opens eyes to the art world, which has been shrinking."
Bate hopes visitors will give themselves plenty of time to immerse themselves into the displays.
"I want people to think of it more as an experience than a typical gallery," he said.
The main gallery space is based on the German word "wunderkammer," which translates as "cabinet of wonder." It's a concept dating back to the mid-16th century when people traveled the world collecting rare items and natural wonders and put them on display in other parts of the world, according to Bate.
Etchings, skeletons, religious and historical relics, as well as works of art were displayed to give people a sense of the rest of the world.
At Immersion, visitors will find a collection of hammers displayed next to a curio filled with hand-made books or collectible glass pieces.
The walls and shelves are covered with paintings and other pieces by Bate and local artists such as Boni, Hollie Berry, Elea Wright, Elizabeth Thomas and Keith Landrum.
Matt Eslinger will have a stop-motion animated piece on display, while Lon Eldridge will be spinning 78 records from his collection on two Victrolas.
"And," Bate pointed out, "everything is for sale."
If You Go
— What: Immersion Gallery opening.
— Where: 231 Broad St.
— When: 5-10 p.m. Friday.
— Admission: $40 includes food and wine.
— Online: immersiongallery.art.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354. Follow him on Twitter @BarryJC.