Backstreet Gallery — Attraction in Florence

Dear Kathryn, It has taken me awhile to process this whole ordeal with Backstreet Gallery. At first, I was just going to let it go, but the experience has caused me so much anxiety and grief that I feel I should make your group aware of the damage it has caused me so as to not put anyone else through the same. I spoke to my friend and neighbor that accompanied me to the shop the day I was accused of being "extremely loud and rude" by two of your vendors. She was flabbergasted and said that in no way did I act that way. I did a great deal of self-reflection after my interview and could not come up with any reasonable explanation for their bad impression either. I remember being very happy, excited, and eager to have the other members like me and would have been on my best behavior. I know it was probably the same members that voted me out. Regardless, the rejection of my self and my art has left me feeling defeated and a bit depressed. I will no longer be creating my art as the rejection has caused me to lose confidence in both it and myself. Your group has a lot of power and it is my hope that you all try to understand the harm that your decision making process can do to a person. I felt that the ladies I met at my interview were lovely and I looked so forward to working with them and developing new friendships. It is too bad that "the two" were able to weld their prejudices in such a hurtful way. I sincerely wish I had never applied. I pray your group considers my words so no one else has to go through this. I am not angry, only very sad. Sincerely, Lynn Taverna

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My friend and I called around 11:45 this morning and simply asked for the owner, and the lady who answered was extremely rude. She said "there are at least 27 different owners here, and we won't be able to help you anyway." and then just hung up. She did not even ask what we needed help with, so there is no way she could have known if they could have helped or not. We only called and asked for the owner because of a scratch on an item we received in the mail. Not a happy...

I love this gallery! Truly beautiful artwork of all different types and using various mediums. I had the honor and pleasure of purchasing a stunning watercolor painting from the artist herself while there. The artists who are a part of the co-op gallery not only sell their work there but also run/work at...