Mark Ruschman has played key role in emergence of Mass Ave

By Bill Brooks

What’s a 51-year-old guy who has owned a fine art gallery for the past 25 years to do, now that he’s facing BABBLIN_july08-1 unemployment? “My mother asked that very same question,” a smiling Mark Ruschman said in mid-June, about a week after he had announced that Ruschman Art Gallery would close at the end of July.

“We will close about two months shy of our 25th anniversary,” Ruschman added – about the only wistful statement that would come from his mouth on this particular, sunny summer day in the St. Joseph neighborhood, where the gallery has stood since 1996. His immediate plans are simple – to stage in mid-July some sort of gallery sale, “a salute to those who have supported us over the years,” the “us” referring to Telene Edington, who for the past 20 years has been the gallery’s associate director. With a distinguished stable of local, regional and national artists, Ruschman Art Gallery has been a stalwart of the Downtown arts scene.

The gallery actually dates to the fall of 1984, when Ruschman opened it at 421 Mass Ave, just down the block from the Chatterbox Jazz Club, where he occasionally tended bar to help make ends meet. The ambiance of the 400 block was much, much different then – more desolate in spots, yet more a part of the burgeoning Downtown art scene.

Today, the 400 block sports no full-time galleries, yet is abuzz with vibrant, commercial activity. Then, a quartercentury ago, the block was at the artistic vanguard. Ruschman had company: the Patrick King Contemporary Art Gallery and the 431 Gallery, a non-profit cooperative run by former Herron School of Art students. The Cunningham Gallery stood down the street, in the 300 block.

Others came along. Steve Stoller operated a makeshift gallery in a condemned building. Brent and Bev Precious opened Precious Design between Ruschman and King. The 400 block of Mass Ave was, for awhile, the center of the city’s visual arts universe.

“It was very much a grassroots effort,” Ruschman said. “We had a sense that – without much city involvement – a lot of small business owners along the Avenue were working together to create an arts scene. There was a lot of sweat equity.”

But there was more going on, as well.

Through the Riley Area Revitalization Program, Ruschman said, the stakeholders were working to take care of the many needy people who lived in the area. But, he added, “We knew that to have a vibrant Downtown, we had to develop it as a great place to live, with amenities.” Those efforts led to the opening of O’Malia Food Market – seen at that time as a major boon to Downtown living. A dry cleaner helped, as well. “I can’t understate the importance of people such as Bob Beckmann, Scott Keller, Wayne Schmidt and David Andrichik,” Ruschman said.

He served Riley Area – now known as Riley Area Development Corp. – for two years as president at a time when the organization’s focus shifted from one of social service to the creation of affordable housing “That was a very tumultuous time,” he said. “The move didn’t sit well with a lot of board members.”

Along the way, Ruschman also played a key role in the Mass Ave Sidewalk Renaissance Project, and for his overall contributions would many years later become the third winner of Riley Area’s most esteemed honor, the Robert D. Beckmann Award.

Ruschman also thought back to the early 1990s, when he began to see a shift in focus along Mass Ave. As galleries closed, the emphasis shifted to the performing arts. “We already had the Phoenix Theatre,” he said. “Then we got Theatre on the Square and American Cabaret Theatre.” Later, the Murat Theatre was renovated and became home to national touring shows and performers.

One by one, the galleries in the 400 block were disappearing – but certainly not because of the theaters’ arrival. The Avenue was changing, and by the time he moved in 1996 Ruschman was the sole gallery left on the 400 block. He relocated to the St. Joseph neighborhood to occupy a comfortable space in a building owned by his former Mass Ave cohorts, Brent and Bev Precious. Times were good, but then came the 900-pound elephant in the room, the economy. The year 2007 was weak, Ruschman said, 2008 was worse, and 2009 even worse.

Ruschman said his business was always keyed to three audiences – established collectors; new buyers, who may or may not evolve into collectors; and corporate clients either remodeling or building new offices. “All three are not buying,” Ruschman said, “not the way we need them to.”

And so he made the tough decision, although he emphasized that he is realistic, not bitter. “I fully recognize we are going through tough times, and purchasing art is not a priority,” he said. “I’m a consumer myself, and I’ve cut back on my own discretionary spending.”

What he has not cut back on is his civic commitment. The founding president of the Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association, Ruschman said he plans on staying involved in IDADA “and any other organization that will have me.”

“I take a great deal of pride in IDADA and what the founding board has been able to do,” he said, “and the fact that we keep getting new people involved to make it better.” As reported in the cover story of Urban Times’ March 2009 edition, IDADA’s First Friday program has become a major part of the Downtown landscape, and IDADA has given voice to the Downtown arts community.

But Ruschman’s experience along Mass Ave taught him that conditions change and that people must change with them. For awhile, the Irvington resident and family man will be busy completing some projects and commissions. Beyond that, however, he has few ideas. His brother suggested he become a dentist. I suggested pro baseball, an idea which raised a delighted eyebrow. Hmmm.

While he ponders the future, he continues to believe strongly in the arts as part of his city’s future. Maybe he ought to apply to the Ballard Administration, to be the city’s firstever director of fine arts appreciation. It’s not the city’s fault Ruschman Art Gallery is closing, but it is the city’s loss.