Beats echoed down a nearly empty South Warren Street on a Saturday afternoon. The sound lead to what looks like an old building marred by the faded remains of an M&T Bank sign.

But inside the building, now known as The Vault, it’s nothing like the bank it once was.

Liam Sheehan | Asst. Photo Editor

A woman is singing her heart out, while the thumping bass leaks out into the street. Models strut around the floor as the music blares, then cuts out, then starts up again. In the basement, there are dozens of models sitting as makeup artists try out different hairstyles and shades of eyeshadows.

Behind the music and the models are walls covered with work from local artists: tribal masks peer down from behind the stage, another area shows off various paintings of bright, neon landscapes. And if a spot isn’t filled, it will be soon — framed prints rest against the walls, waiting to cover a blank space.

Even after almost six months in business, The Vault’s owner Justin Pellingra can’t sum up the place, or its intended experience, into words. Every night there’s something new going on.

A friend of his described it as a mix of The Factory, Andy Warhol’s multimedia art studio in New York City, and hardcore punk music venue CBCG. Pellingra wasn’t sold on this idea, shrugging his shoulders as he turned back to hang up more artwork.

There’s never a quiet moment at The Vault. This past weekend, Pellingra, along with models, designers and musicians, gathered hours before a fashion show to prepare for that night.

Tuesday nights are devoted to meditation. Wednesdays are art and music sessions, which Pellingra described as “an open platform to be creative.” This Thursday, there’s a show featuring nerdcore rapper Mega Ran. And Friday, 25 artists and four bands will fill the space for an art showcase called The Bizarre Bazaar.

As a self-described “creatively restless person,” Pellingra said the mixed media art space was something he always wanted to create. He could never narrow down his millions of interests and wanted to pursue them all.

When Pellingra first approached local landlords and banks to help kickstart the business, he often found them to be skeptical.

“They’d say, ‘When you know what you really want to do, come back and talk to us,’” Pellingra recalled.

Before Pellingra got The Vault, it was still a performance space that often hosted the Syracuse Improv Collective.

After seeing one of the group’s shows, he talked to a landlord, secured the space and by the beginning of November 2015, The Vault hosted its first show.

Pellingra wants to keep the space affordable, but also faces the challenge of running a business. But so far, shows have been successful and above all, the experience has been fun, he said.

One of those people is Kinyon Brinson, who first came to a show at The Vault last December and said he immediately felt comfortable. There were artists, DJs and hip-hop musicians all in the same space — everyone had something artistic about them.

That eclectic feel is what led Brinson to start scheduling events at The Vault.

“It can be shaped into whatever you want the event to be,” Brinson said. “There was less resistance and more acceptance.”

This Thursday Brinson’s shaping The Vault into a nerdcore event with performances by Mega Ran and Sammus, and a tournament for the sports action video game, Rocket League.

Jeremy Allen, who’s hosting The Bizarre Bazaar on Friday, has other plans for the art space. He’s bringing in 25 different craft vendors, some from as far away as Rochester, New York, and Montreal, Canada. There will also be performances from four local bands, some with punk and indie sound.

It’s all in an effort to improve Syracuse’s art scene, a place Allen said is “No. 1 for having the most unsuccessful events.” He said everyone wants to see a stronger community, but no one puts in the effort to make it happen.

To him, The Vault is a place that’s making that change. It was a large enough space for his events, but there was another reason behind his choice.

“I also just wanted to bring a little more awareness to the venue itself because it’s something good for Syracuse to have,” Allen said.

Pellingra had similar reasons for opening The Vault. He said he knew there was talent in Syracuse, but those artists just weren’t being recognized.

Besides hosting events, Pellingra has also taken a more hands-on approach by reaching out to the artists himself. Just in the past week, he commissioned pieces from two artists who’d never been working artists before.

Every event, every display is another check off Pellingra’s self-described bucket list: Theatre, music, art classes, yoga — check.

The Vault is also a full film studio, and right now he’s working on a docu-fiction TV show with details still under wraps. Next on his list is a live interactive theater performance, and his ultimate pipe dream is for the space to host a live taping of a TV show.

Despite having these big goals for the future, Pellingra doesn’t let them distract him from the present. He’s always working in the moment, always busy preparing for the next event — a feeling that he tries to create for the audience, too.

“For me, there’s something about creating an experience for people,” Pellingra said. “It’s happening in that moment and that’s it.”

Published on April 18, 2016 at 9:28 pm

Contact Kathryn: kjkrawcz@syr.edu | @kathrynkrawczyk