Inside Tanya Pugh-Johnson’s ‘Storefront to the Creatives’ in Downtown Birmingham

Inside her gallery in downtown Birmingham, business owner Tanya Johnson features designs by local designers, artists, and stylists. (Amarr Croskey, For The Birmingham Times)
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By Challis Morgan | For The Birmingham Times

Joining a growing number of Black female-owned businesses in the city of Birmingham, Tanya Pugh-Johnson has opened an art gallery where faith, creativity and hard work intersect.

Her storefront, 16^th Cross Pearson Wearable Art Gallery, the first Black-owned, wearable art gallery in Alabama opened in July and showcases work by local designers, artists and stylists.

16th Cross Pearson Wearable Art Gallery showcases art created by local designers, artists and stylists. (Amarr Croskey, For The Birmingham Times)

Inside you’ll find the wistful black and white memories of acrylic on canvas, (by local painter A.Nichel) or the bold bright colors of Aaliyah Taylor’s handmade jewelry. Live models fill the window scape, wearing the work of local fashion designers and stylists.

Pugh-Johnson, 42, said her wearable art gallery is the fruit of a vision she received in October 2023 where she saw a platform and a microphone and saw herself standing under the platform, unseen but indispensable. “It’ll never really be about me,” she said. “God called me to be a vessel. To uplift and shine a light on others so that they can be seen.”

She knew her love of fashion would be at the heart of her business. “My favorite thing to do is to put it on,” she said. “The human body is a blank canvas. The masterpiece is on the inside.” Fashion is art because it is an expression of the masterpiece, she said. “It tells your story, tells us who you are.”

Her shop is unique in that it features a rotating selection of local African American artists and stylists including Aaliyah Taylor; A. Nichel; Nikki Manning Huntley, Bradford Caddell, Pansey Nelson, Samuel Kane and Allyson Ragland.

Pugh-Johnson said she was able to assemble a group of Black talent through “word of mouth, social media. “I met with each of them and so many of those initial meetings ended in tears and us hugging and praying because we just knew it was the right fit.”

Each creative has a 6–12 month contract for 16^th Cross Pearson to feature their work, she said.

Behind The Name

Pugh-Johnson is the product of a generational embrace. Her grandmothers are behind the name 16th Cross Pearson. Her mother’s mother lived on 16th Street in Fountain Heights and her father’s mother lived on Pearson in the West End neighborhood. Pugh-Johnson was a latchkey kid and when she got home after school, she would sit on her grandmother’s stoop on 16th St. Johnson remembers seeing the MAX Transit bus pull up and her grandmother emerge, wearing her nurse’s uniform and slowly making her way up the street through the haze of the afternoon sun.

“It was like an Angel was walking toward me,” said Pugh-Johnson, pointing out that her grandmother was her beacon.

“I would feel so much excitement at finally seeing her coming up the street. As a kid it meant I could go play, but as an adult I know her presence meant so much more. She nurtured me, loved me unconditionally, and taught me resilience.”

Pugh-Johnson always had an entrepreneurial spirit. She left her full-time job in banking in 2019 and started a marketing business. “It did fairly well but it didn’t do as well as I wanted,” she said. “… I can tell you there was a moment when I thought God forgot about me. Plans and ideas that I wanted just weren’t coming into fruition. But I came to realize it wasn’t that God had forgotten about me, it was that I forgot who He was.”

When it came to the gallery, Pugh-Johnson said everything just fell into place. She received the vision in October 2023 and got funding from her aunt just a few months later in the beginning of 2024. “I went to her with my idea, and she told me she believed in me.”

And it all happened fast. Even when stressors popped up, like when it came time to find a building. Pugh-Johnson just knew she was supposed to be in a building off 3rd Ave, but she kept getting the run around from the realtor.

Many of the artists at Tanya Johnson’s 16 Cross Pearson have never shown in a gallery before. (Amarr Croskey, For The Birmingham Times)

“She totally dismissed me. Wouldn’t call me back. I was devastated when I learned they sold to someone else. But within 24 hours I was notified about a place in the middle of 1st Ave. and it turned out to be perfect. The lease was signed within 30 days, before the old tenant had even moved out.”

Before she knew it, it was July 2024 and she was hosting her grand opening. Getting to this point was all about being able to act in the moment, Pugh-Johnson said.

“When God shifts, align,” she said. “We can become complacent if we stay in a space where God does not want us any longer. If he shifts, you better learn.”

16th Cross Pearson is also about partnerships, said the business owner. For example, she partners with The Flourish Alabama (non profit that supports young artists) and showcases T-shirts designed by Birmingham City Students.) that gives access to exclusive work. “Everything we showcase here is one of a kind. You won’t find these pieces anywhere else,” she said. “It’s the storefront to the creative.”

The Gallery also fosters collaboration by eliminating gatekeeping. Many of the artists at 16th Cross Pearson have never shown in a gallery before. “We want to provide opportunities for untapped talent and provide a place for local creatives to sell their work,” she said.

The gallery serves artists through 6-12 month contracts and takes submissions at SEPSHops@gmail.com

Address: 2215 1st Ave N Suite 200, Birmingham, AL 35203 Website | Instagram

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