Who we are
Hammerspace Gallery was founded by Hailey Johnson and first began as a mobile pop-up gallery in Portland, OR. This project was a way to bring new audiences and conversations to conceptual, contemporary art and provide opportunities to emerging artists.
The mobile gallery was put to rest during Hailey’s move back to the midwest. Now, after years of slow renovation, Hailey has relaunched Hammerspace Gallery in her 2 stall garage in Wyoming, MI.
Story Behind the Name…
The name “Hammerspace” is an analogy for the creative process. The term refers to a humorous, extra-dimensional storage space accessed by cartoon characters. This fictional concept of a storage space is not bound to the laws of physics, allowing characters to access objects that are larger than their own bodies or size of the space they are in. This allows them to produce objects out of thin air.
Mission, Vision, Values
Mission
Hammerspace Gallery cultivates experimental art and artist development in West Michigan and beyond. Through site-responsive exhibitions, cohort mentorship, community critique, and accessible workshops, we build sustained pathways for artists who are also caregivers to develop serious work and find their audiences.
VIsion
We see a contemporary art landscape where caregiving and creative practice reinforce each other rather than compete. Hammerspace grows as a nimble, evolving platform, activating unexpected spaces, reaching artists across geographies, and building the kind of community that makes ambitious work possible for people with full lives.
Values
Care shapes how we operate. Programming, scheduling, pricing, and decisions are built around the real constraints of artists who are also caregivers. This is not a peripheral concern; it is the organizing logic of everything we do.
Relationships over scale. Hammerspace stays small enough to know the people it works with. Depth of engagement matters more than reach.
Access is built in, not added on. Low admission, subsidized participation, and free community programming are not afterthoughts. The work we present belongs to the communities we operate in.
Rigor and openness together. Experimental, installation-based, and interdisciplinary work deserves the same serious critical attention as any other. We hold both the rigor of critique and the openness of a community in the same space.
Slow growth, lasting work. We resist the pressure to produce at the expense of quality or sustainability. Cyclical programming, deliberate curation, and unhurried artist development make for better work and a more durable organization.
Meet the Team
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Hailey Johnson
Founder / Director / Curator
Multidisciplinary artist; Hailey Johnson delves into the invisible forces that shape human experience. With a BA in sculpture and psychology, she combines her fascination with the mind and materiality. Inspired by language, spiritual consciousness, and motherhood, the concept of unseen threads that bind us is a common theme in Hailey’s work.
After working in both commercial and non profit art galleries Hailey became increasingly aware of gaps that exist in the art world. She is passionate about creating a new vision for presenting fine art and reinforce why art should be viewed, experienced, collected and supported.
As a mother and artist herself she understands the added complexity of maintaining an art practice and the importance of building a supportive network of other artist parents. Hailey found this support in her friend Emily Mayo and was inspired to pay it forward through the Artist Cohort.
haileyj@hammerspacegallery.com
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Emily Mayo
Critique Group Leader / COHORT Mentor
Emily Mayo is an artist, educator, and curator committed to fostering creative spaces that support both artistic growth and the unique challenges of parenthood. She offers mentorship to the Hammerspace Artist Cohort and provides a place for artists to connect virtually during Hammerspace’s monthly Critique Group.
As both an artist and a mother, Emily is passionate about supporting an artist-run gallery space that acknowledges the dual roles of caregiving and creative practice. She believes in fostering a supportive community where artists who are parents can navigate the challenges of making while raising children. Emily lives in Grand Rapids, MI, with her husband and two young boys.
