By Krystle J Bailey
South Jersey has been long overdue for a place where artists can gather and collaborate. Jim Dessicino and Zach Katzen have come together to fill that void in a place that many locals never knew existed. Next to the iconic Tony’s Baltimore Grill in Atlantic City lies a forgotten about space that has gone unused for many years – until now.
What once was a union hall for the Glaziers Local Union 252 had become storage space, collecting dust and boxes for many years. Through a series of events and a shared passion for the arts, Dessicino and Katzen have since breathed new life into the space, now known as Union Hall Arts.
The art-loving duo had crossed paths a time or two over the years, often discussing their desire for an artists’ hub in Atlantic City but life continued to guide them in different directions until this year.
Jim grew up in this area but never feeling like he had the artistic resources that he needed locally, ventured out into the world where he built a thriving career as an artist. As his career evolved, he began bringing art back to Atlantic City through art exhibits, international speakers, curated events, and big-city ideas.
Zach, on the other hand, had been focusing his artistic energy on the city that raised him. During the same time that Jim was growing on a global level, Zach had been serving the local artist community in a variety of ways from his involvement in city-wide arts celebrations to the launch of his artist support service company, Create 48. He had become a pillar in the local arts community and someone that artists relied on for resources, supplies, allocated mural walls, advocacy, and more.
Their two worlds finally collided in 2022 and after a few false starts, they merged their life experiences and love of the arts to bring Union Hall Arts to life. As Katzen puts it, “Our different roads led to the same place.”
That place is an inconspicuous art gallery and hub hidden in plain view on Atlantic Avenue. The 600 sqft gallery space, which was once filled with old boxes, now is home to two private artist studios, classroom and gallery space, a screen-printing shop, and muralist workspace. Adjacent to the world famous Tony’s Baltimore Grill, the location was perfect for the vision Jim and Zach had in mind.
“It was crucial that a bar was associated with the gallery where people can gather to create art and socialize,” explains Dessicino. “In other cities, you usually know where the artists hang out. We wanted to make a vibe here that would have artists coming back over and over again.”
Dessicino, who splits his time between here and Italy, is passionate about bringing global art, artists, and technique back home for local creators to experience.
“I wanted to bring the things I love about Italy and Ancient Europe to this town that is forever replacing itself and tearing itself down. You might be from AC and never traveled outside of South Jersey,” explains Dessicino, “but I’m going to bring historic sculpture casts so artists can have access to something in an up-close and personal manner that they might not get access to otherwise. I want to create a zero barrier to entry space for people to learn traditions and techniques that have been around for thousands of years.”
Union Hall is not reserved only for professional artists. Anyone who desires to experience art in its many modalities is invited to participate in the art classes and seminars offered in the creatively-charged space. Model painting, life drawing sessions, cast drawing, and sculpture classes are currently available at Union Hall.
In addition to classes and collaborative art sessions, Union Hall offers a space for film screenings, lectures, and themed art events and will soon be home to an Artist-in-Residence program.
“I love this city and its history. I collect the history and preserve it through mural projects that tell stories of our community,” shares Katzen. “My goal was always to give the community something they felt was theirs. When you celebrate the history of a community, it helps people remember things and learn new stories. There was never a connective tissue between local artists. One of the things that we are able to do here is to give artists a home base.”
Zach’s Atlantic City history collection is displayed throughout Union Hall, including an old ACHS photo hanging above the front door, a collection of antique Steel Pier tokens, and countless other artifacts that tell the story of AC.
For Jim, it was important to use Union Hall as a place to show people the history of art. For Zach, it was important to show the history of Atlantic City. Together, the space inspires creativity, encourages collaboration, and tells a rich history of art near and far.
Local artists can create, show, and sell their work at Union Hall, backed by the support of Jim and Zach, who consider it their duty to support local artists to the point that they don’t feel the need to leave South Jersey in order to get to the next stage of their career. They consider the space a union for artists where they can come talk about pricing, how to charge for their art, learn from each other, and collaborate.
“All this stuff was here buried under the sand dunes. Now it’s visible, growing, and spreading like wildflowers. We are sold out for life drawing classes every time,” shared Dessicino. “There’s a talent pool of people who didn’t have the opportunity before.”
To celebrate the collaboration with the 100+-year-old Tony’s Baltimore Grill, the first group art show is an invitation for creators of all levels to curate art from a pizza box. The pizza-themed exhibit will feature pizza movies, music, merch, and of course, world-famous cheesy goodness from Tony’s. As Zach puts it, “When your pizza is a work of art, you open a gallery next door.”
The event will take place at Union Hall on June 24th, 2022. Participation and event details are available on social media @UnionHallArts and unionhallarts.com.
Other upcoming events include a skateboarding video debut on May 5th, a two-day drawing workshop by Rick Lacy, figure sculpting classes, movie nights, kids’ art classes, and more. Follow the Union Hall Instagram account to stay in the know.
“Union Hall Arts was built out of love for Atlantic CIty, a spirit of collaboration, and an underdog, built up from the streets mentality,” explains the dynamic artsy duo. “We couldn’t do this without the support of Baltimore Grill.”
“With art, you can reshape the world” – Jim Dessicino.
Krystle J Bailey. Multimedia journalist, Author, Poet.
Connect with Krystle on Instagram @thedailybailey5
