AGW SONO Partners and OnWashington Award
Free Pop-Up Space to the
ART ANNEX
“Shadowboxing” By Artist Amy Schott to Run June 3-26, 2022

May 31, 2022, South Norwalk, CT: The Art Annex is the winner of this year’s OnWashington Entrepreneur Contest and a free pop-up space on Washington Street in the Historic SoNo District in Norwalk. The contest is another small business support initiative put forth by AGW SONO Partners, who manage 27 properties on Washington Street, consisting of restaurants, retail, office space, and lifestyle services. Art Annex Owners Andrea Letters and Jane Jansen Seymour pitched their business concept in March and were chosen from a spirited and creative group of entrepreneurs looking to introduce their products and services to the public.

“The Art Annex is an intriguing concept in that it follows the same ethos that AGW and OnWashington are built upon – supporting small businesses. In this case, the Art Annex is supporting local artists and providing them a platform to show their work,” says Linda Kavanagh, Director of OnWashington, “In addition to the concept itself, Andrea and Jane are marketing dynamos and entered into this with a strong PR and social media strategy, which stood out among the other business pitches.”

Art Annex CT was formed in 2020 by Andrea Letters and Jane Jansen Seymour to assist local artists with solo and small group shows. Andrea is the Executive Director of the Rowayton Arts Center and a photographer specializing in art photography. Her professional career includes past positions as Associate Art Director for Gourmet Magazine (Condé Nast) and Metropolitan Home Magazine (Hachette-Filipacchi). She studied Art, Art History and English at the University of California in Santa Barbara. Jane is the Marketing Director of the Rowayton Arts Center. Throughout her career in communications, she has managed successful promotions, social media marketing and website management – she is also a published writer and dancer. Jane graduated from Smith College where she studied Art History and Economics.

Art Annex has transformed the 700 sq ft space at 132A Washington Street into a gallery that will feature the art exhibition “Shadowboxing: Mixed Media Art by Amy Schott” which will be on view June 3 through June 26, 2022. The gallery will feature Amy Schott’s solo work which mixes antique items with wire to form layers of colorful images in multidimensional shadow boxes. There will be a Preview Night on Thursday, June 2 from 5 to 7 pm. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 3 pm to 7 pm or by appointment. (Please contact Jane Seymour at jane@artannexct.com or 917-301-9963 to schedule.)

“One of our favorite initiatives is offering small and emerging businesses the opportunity to operate out of a retail space for the first time,” says Adam Greenbaum, Managing Partner, AGW SONO Partners, “Most small businesses cannot afford the costs associated with opening a physical location or committing to a long-term lease. This initiative is fun, philanthropic, and ultimately productive, as last year's winner signed a 5-year lease after winning a one month pop-up!"