Building A Fortress

Meetup.com artists finally meet up

by Amanda McKenna

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On Saturdays, many families walk the dog, hit the park and go home for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But not Kat Reilly's family — they'd rather be sanding floors in an old factory in sub-30-degree weather. The reason? Her "family" comprises hundreds of creative types who've met through one of the 22 groups she heads on Meetup.com.

Reilly's collective Meetup groups range from "Philadelphia Professional Videographers" to "Philadelphia Artists in Search of a Roommate." Overall, her collective groups boast more than 1,000 members, from pretty much anywhere between New York and the nation's capital. "It has snowballed," says Reilly.

This Saturday, the groups will converge for the first time at the grand opening of the Fortress for the Arts. The event will kick off on the fourth floor of the North Philly factory that once housed the Gross Metal Company; the itinerary includes an open mic, fashion show, photography display, booths of original artwork for sale, food and an opportunity for members of Reilly's Meetup groups to mingle and network. "I want to introduce everyone to what this space can do," says Reilly.

The space she's referring to — the same one Reilly's been scrubbing and sanding — came into her life by total happenstance. Last November, Reilly and her cousin Molly Meehan took a detour to avoid traffic that shuttled them past the then-abandoned factory that spans a city block on West Glenwood Avenue.

Immediately, they knew they wanted it for a collective studio space. They got in touch with the owner, and after some negotiations, Reilly got the go-ahead to renovate and rent four floors of the building.

In the beginning, the cavernous room that makes up the fourth floor was filled with factory parts, baseball bats, gear wheels, large chains and car door handles — not to mention filth. Now, the room is cleared, the wood floors are refinished and the 23 windows are temporarily sealed with plastic.

When you compare it to the not-yet-renovated floors, it's hard to believe that Reilly and her crew of volunteers have restored the room enough to host the opening.

Reilly sees big potential in the Fortress, a name inspired by the looming, castlelike fire towers at either end of the structure. The building will be the home to Reilly's photography studio, Kat's Eye. She's talking about holding art classes, renting out studio space and planning events where artists of all experience levels can forge new friendships and partnerships. "I try to put A with B and B with D," says Reilly of her tendency to orchestrate professional relationships and play matchmaker for kindred artistic types.

Brian Chacon, owner of RBC Set Design and Fabrication and a member of multiple groups organized by Reilly, is already planning a project with Sean McKnight, an independent filmmaker and owner of Cinema Alliance. They want to build sets in the Fortress for some movie shorts they've been working on.

Bringing people like Chacon and McKnight together is what Reilly loves to do. For this reason, people who aren't members of the online communities are also invited to join in Saturday's festivities. "When you have someone behind you, this little dream turns into an active, passionate, happening scenario," she says.

The Fortress is one of those scenarios.

The Fortress for the Arts

Grand opening party and open mic night, Sat., Feb. 17, 7 p.m., free, Fortress for the Arts, 221-229 W. Glenwood Ave., 610-291-1020