It opened earlier this year with subdued, stylish flair, as in the lower case name and industrial/mixed use location. But, following the ominous shuttering of Ol' Factory Cafe, referred to by residents as "the heart of Sand City," the contemporary art gallery and studios of fine art base will close Jan. 10, 2010, according to a graceful and gracious press release this morning from Executive Director Elizabeth O'Malley.

In the span of less than a year, they generated considerable and hopeful buzz over the environmentally aware "art + environment" exhibit in March, the Found Object Art Exhibition contest that previewed at the West End Celebration, multi-media "happenings" that merged spoken word, art and video, and artist talks and workshops. Everything they did they did with a progressive, forward-thinking aesthetic, which was central to their approach.

"We questioned, converged, and cross-pollinated," O'Malley writes. But she concedes that "it has become apparent on personal and economic levels that we don’t need to run a physical space to advance the fine art base mission," that they are exploring other "venues on the periphery," and invite continued support of fine art base, hinting that they will maintain a local presence. O'Malley wasn't available to respond at press time.

In an ironic nod to the idiom that when one door closes, another one opens, next week will see the opening of a new art space at Seaside's City Center in the form of Red Dot Gallery, which is operated by the joint chambers of commerce of Seaside and Sand City.