McLeod Residence Blog: Press Release!
McLeod Residence, a new concept of art and gathering space, opens January 5, 2007, in the heart of Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Located at 2209 2nd Avenue, the space is owned by Lele McLeod (née Leanne Ng) and Buster McLeod (née Erik Benson), longtime members of Seattle’s art and technology communities. McLeod Residence opens its doors with three exhibits—a group exhibit featuring photographs and digital art mounted on lightboxes, an installation by artist and musician Paul Rucker, and an exhibit of antique paintings curated by art dealer Jay Franklin. The opening will be from 5–9 p.m.
McLeod Residence is part lounge and part gallery with an emphasis on membership and participation by its patrons. The idea was conceived by longtime friends Lele McLeod and Buster McLeod, who both had dreams of opening their own businesses.
After nine years of experience in galleries in Seattle, Brooklyn and Laguna Beach, Lele’s goal was to build her own open, friendly space that would allow her to support the artists she admires most. Buster McLeod, a partner in Seattle’s Robot Co-op, which runs the popular social networking site 43things.com, had a vision of recreating those kinds of online connections in real life: a lounge that is less of a place to get drunk and pick up dates, and more of an old-fashioned club where new and old friends can exchange ideas and conversation, in a place that feels like a second home.