Ponce City Market gives artists a blank slate with Pile, they create a mountain

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? When Ponce City Market first announced its tenants, they might as well have light-projected a dollar sign into the sky. A mixed-use development with swanky shops and a star-studded, chef-driven food court seems like the last place to find true culture. Yet, one of the first times since PCM opened its doors to the public, it was for a dance performance. Then they started throwing their own house cafeteria shows.??
? ?? Now, inside the space stands an art gallery. PCM asked David Baerwalde, an artist-in-residence at the Goat Farm, to do something creative with the empty storefront next to Madewell. So he partnered with fellow artist George Long and the two created Pile, a gallery and installation space throwing events every Friday night until 2016. ??
? ?? Far from being uptight, Pile seems intent on throwing a party that is neither low-brow nor high-brow, just good old fashioned fun. During Pile’s first Friday opening, one corner of the room was taken over by layers of burlap that stretched from floor to ceiling, creating a mountain with a peak that extended into white cotton ball clouds. Wooden sticks of dynamite lay at the mountain’s base, eager to be lit. A mound of wooden cake slices was the centerpiece of the room, their wood-shaving icing so convincing that guests were laughing when they realized it was fake. Jungle-style beats pulsed through the mountain and the PBR flowed. At one point, Long grabbed one of his wooden sculptures to use as a wedge to prop open the gallery’s door. Shoppers, artists, and people who clearly weren’t sure what was going on piled into Pile.  ??
? ?? Creative Loafing got with Baerwalde to ask him a few questions about Pile: ??
? ?? Tell me about the decision to put Pile at Ponce City Market, and how the location came about. ?? ??
? David Baerwalde: I was invited by PCM to activate an available space. I asked George Long to join me and we got excited about creating an unexpected experience in the atmosphere of the new market. ??
? ?? What is your vision for the gallery? ?? ??
? D.B.: We are really exploring the space as a platform for collaboration, not just with each other, but with some other artists using different mediums as well. It’s not only an exhibition space for our work, but it evolving as our shared studio, where we are spending time and working. My favorite aspect though, I think, has been inviting others to use it as a performance and music venue. ??
? ?? You currently are one of the artists living at the Goat Farm. How has that played a role in opening Pile? ?? ??
? D.B.: Well, maybe in a sense that the Goat Farm, by example, regularly pushes against the typical parameters of perceptions about how and where art can happen.
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? Who are some of the artists you’ll be featuring in upcoming events?
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? D.B.: Some other artists that will be joining us in different capacities (a list we are still curating): Rachel K. Garceau, Nude Twins, Beth Malone, William Downs, Nikki Starz, IFLY,  Hiron Roy, and Dan Bailey and Crew are on the schedule … so far. ?? ?
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? Pile. Free. Gallery hours: Wed.-Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Events: Friday 7-10 p.m. until 2016. 675 Ponce de Leon Ave. N.E. 678-524-2048. ?