Owl’s Eye Art Collective
expands programming at new home

By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | October 2026

Owl’s Eye Art Collective has had an interesting year. Earlier this year, it was on the verge of closing but today is thriving in a new space. It recently revived a long vacant storefront in the Market House building, near the farmers market and CHS Field, and relocated from its former Sibley Street location in Lowertown. It now has five times the space for its art gallery, art classes and expanded community programming, including book readings, game nights, and free weekly art and craft nights.

Owl’s Eye specializes in printmaking and is well known for its Rebel Loon apparel and other Rebel Resistance products, which it began producing during Operation Metro Surge early this year. It was the sale of these products that made the relocation possible. The merchandise features an emblem of a loon with wings spread upward toward a star. The design was inspired by the rebel alliance symbol from the Star Wars movie franchise and quickly became a hit. Owl’s Eye sold more than 2,000 T-shirts with the emblem and later donated over $14,000 in profits from the sales to Neighborhood House and the Wilson Foundation for rental assistance for Minnesota families.

“I never thought we could have an opportunity like this,” said Michelle Fuller, who co-owns the collective with her fiancé Josh Walcheski. “This is the most beautiful spot I’ve ever seen…. We thought about it [closing the business] for a little bit, but I am not giving up on Lowertown. I still think there’s momentum bringing back the community that was lost a little bit in 2020. There’s lots of cool people hiding inside their apartments here. We just got to get them out and tell them that there’s a place to come and hang out.”

The business has had its share of challenges from the beginning. Its opening in 2024 was delayed six months due to a major street project that tore up their storefront sidewalk to create a Gold Line Metro Transit bus station. Fuller said the station quickly became a hotbed for illegal activity, including drug dealing, and it significantly hindered the safe community space they were trying to foster. On one occasion she had to run outside to administer Narcan to revive somebody who had overdosed on opioids.

She said she called the St. Paul police and Metro Transit police many times during their two-year lease, but each typically referred her to call the other and no long term change ever came. She hopes to see better collaboration between the two departments to tackle crimes involving both jurisdictions but noted things have improved the past few months since St. Paul mayor Kaohly Her was elected. Notably, the new mayor sat down with Lowertown business owners this summer to discuss their needs, and the city recently hired a community prosecutor who is tasked with addressing downtown crime.

Despite the safety issues and challenging economic conditions that have persisted downtown since the COVID-19 pandemic, Owl’s Eye has been committed to sticking it out in Lowertown. Invigorated by new energy, a new location and new offerings, Fuller said their vision of having a community-centered business finally feels possible.

“I always wanted to have an area where people would come and do art together,” she said. “A lot of art studios right now are individual studios…I tried that out for a little bit, but you’re not really communicating and getting feedback from other artists or growing your experience.”

New programming
The two-level space in the Market House, 289 5th St. E., boasts ample coworking space, private conference rooms, an artist gallery and an entire floor dedicated to art classes. It had been vacant since 2020 but was in turnkey condition for Owl’s Eye. It has high ceilings and natural light spills into its lounge area on the main level. The space includes two meeting rooms with television monitors, co-working room for at least 40 members, a kitchenette, and two large workspaces commonly used for art labs and classes. A few examples include “Sip & Print: Stencil Screenprinting” and “Sunday Funday: Mosaics & Bloodies.”

Fuller worked in the event industry for a decade to support her art career so hosting large events is nothing new to her. Their space is open to everything from birthday parties to private events. She’s a graduate of the St. Paul College of Visual Arts which operated on Summit Avenue until 2012 and her first foray into Lowertown’s art scene was as an exhibitor at AZ Gallery, now known as The Burl Gallery. In addition to screen-printing, she specializes in intaglio etching, which entails etching a design onto a metal plate and using a chemical to make the design hold ink. Josh has a day job but hopes to one day be able to spend more time working at Owl’s Eye.

The business recently got a six-head screen-printer to boost production speed and now offers walk-in screen-printing on the weekends. She hopes to create a nonprofit arm of the business by 2027, further emphasizing her desire for it to be a space designed to support the community. Ten percent of proceeds from Rebel Resistance clothing and artwork continue to be donated to local mutual aid and community organizations.

During the fall art crawl, Owl’s Eye will be open Oct. 16-18, displaying the works of around a dozen artists. Free refreshments and screen-printing services will be available, and a free Saturday night art party is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. Oct. 17. Those who stop by during the Crawl can get a free Art Crawl stamp screen-printed onto a solid-colored T-shirt – bring your own shirt or purchase one there for $15. For more information on Owl’s Eye Art Collective, call 612-440-2338 or visit owlseyeart.com.

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