Look for large glass doors with the number "122" above them and the Blue Sky sign just behind the window on your right-hand side.
Ah, you’ve made it to Blue Sky Gallery! Imagine back in 1975, five young photographers stood outside their tiny gallery on NW Lovejoy Street, shivering with equal parts excitement and nerves as they polished the glass for their very first show. These folks-Robert, Craig, Ann, Terry, and Christopher-had to pool together their coins to rent the place, probably giving up a fair share of fancy coffee just for you to be standing here today. At first, it was all about showing off the grit, joy, and weirdness of local artists, but soon, word got out-this was a spot that loved a good photo, whether snapped in Portland or Paris!
Blue Sky bounced around, from Lovejoy to Fifth Avenue to Hoyt Street-almost as if it was playing hide-and-seek with the city. But in 2007, after an epic fundraising push (think: every bake sale, art raffle, and friendly arm-twist imaginable), it landed here, transforming the old Daisy Kingdom warehouse into a home for stunning, surprising, and sometimes utterly baffling pictures. More than 700 photographers have been showcased here-imagine all those stories peering out through a lens!
Standing outside now, just let your mind wander through the decades: opening nights filled with laughter, footsteps echoing on the new floor, and on one unforgettable summer day, the final works of Robert Rauschenberg, fresh and full of life. Every shot in Blue Sky has been a ticket to somewhere new-no passport required!
