The whole thing started because David Jackson got bored during the nasty winter of 2013-14. “I do contract work cleaning out properties for the city, and use the building as a warehouse,” he explained. “It was too snowy to do any work, so we sat around looking at all the things we’d salvaged and started banging things together.”
Jackson began repurposing items he had found on sites throughout the city, creating functional repurposed pieces from stuff that would have ended up in a landfill somewhere. Fencing was transformed into a raised platform. Old fixtures from Central State Hospital became lighting. Slices of a tree became an accent wall. A gutted electrical breaker box transformed into a coffee table. “We did it just to keep working,” he admitted. Then he hooked up with Foundation East, the public art nonprofit responsible for the painting of the signal boxes in Irvington, and they hooked him up with other artists. The gallery 5547 Project was born in the warehouse at 5547 Bonna Ave.
Now, the 5547 Project offers rotating exhibits of local works, each month with a different theme. They added a coffee shop, plus comfortable chairs, a foosball table, and a place for neighbors to hang out. Their First Friday open house draws capacity crowds. On second Fridays, they host Coal Yard Comedy nights, on third Fridays local musicians, and fourth Fridays are spoken word nights. On most Sunday afternoons, Delta Duo comes in to play at 3 p.m. Irvington Community School and Scecina students have exhibited work there.
“We heard a lot about how much people missed Lazy Daze . . . a community space. We’re giving people some of that feel here,” Jackson said. It has become a place to relax and meet neighbors, have a coffee and perhaps buy a piece of art. “One hundred percent of the art sales go back to the artist,” Jackson states. “We don’t take a commission.”
Jackson grew up near Christian Park, and returned to the area after a 23 year stint in the Marine Corps, serving in Japan and Korea. “I learned to swim at Ellenberger Park, I hung out around here,” he said. He saw that Irvington was growing, that people were coming together, and the space on Bonna could become something bigger. Currently, the 5547 Project is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and employs 12 people.
The Coal Factory project, which was given the green light last year, will be going on around 5547 Project. In addition, work has begun on the Pennsy Trail that will be just across the street from the gallery, and a repaving project for Bonna Ave. will begin shortly. Jackson noted that the changes along Bonna will likely create new opportunities for the gallery and coffee shop as well. He’s planning on extending hours for the summer, and they are thinking about how to add some food to the coffee shop menu.
However, he wants to keep the feel of the 5547 Project repurposed and fresh, and a little eccentric. “This is Irvington, after all.”
