Speakeasy with - Terence Jackson

U*Space Gallery owner Terence Jackson is convinced that people will buy art if you make it "inclusive as opposed to exclusive." Jackson's eclectic Edgewood Avenue gallery spotlights an amazing diversity of work, from painting to craft to African woodcarvings, most priced to sell.

Is Atlanta an arts-friendly town?

If it's commercially safe art. Which is sad because we have some really talented artists who end up having to leave Atlanta because they just aren't getting the local support needed to pay their bills.

Why is keeping art affordable so central to the U*Space mission?

Galleries would agree that original art has the power to enrich, change and bring people together. Yet most still only cater to 1 percent of the market. The most important question galleries and artists can ask themselves is "Can my immediate family and friends afford to buy my work on a regular basis?" For most, the answer is "No." This is why I find most galleries have lost their ability to connect people to ideas on the most basic levels. By keeping the art affordable and refusing to define my space by styles and mediums, I can hopefully help bridge the widening gap between old and new, rich and poor collectors.

How did you first become interested in art?

My parents exposed me to the arts at an early age. I guess I knew I was going to be an artist as far back as kindergarten. The teacher would place me on her desk and I would sing a new song every morning before we started class. When a wonderful gig like that ends, you have no choice but to continue to seek out the next one.