Community Corner

Former Art Gallery Now a Christian Bookstore

The former ARTrageous gallery space has a new tenant.

Whosoever’s, a Christian bookstore and giftshop owned by Joyce Kleege and formerly located two blocks away, has taken over the gallery once owned by Karen Duarteau.

Kleege is a longtime Novatoan and the first president of the Old Town Merchants Association. She previously owned the Amen bookstore on Redwood Boulevard for 15 years.

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“I’ve been eyeing this building for a long time, but when I moved downtown a year ago it wasn’t available,” she said Monday.

Kleege plans to keep some art from ARTrageous, but has also put out a call for new artists who want to exhibit their work. She’s still putting the final touches on the store, which sells Bibles, spiritual texts, jewelry, journals and other gift items.

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ARTrageous opened in December 2011 and was the sole art gallery in Novato. Its owner said she opened it in an attempt to revive downtown Novato. But despite her best attempts to bring people into the gallery and other shops, the gallery had weak sales, forcing Duarteau to close the shop this summer.

What do you think about ARTrageous’s closure? Does Novato need another art gallery?


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