By Nicole S. Daniel
The Birmingham Times
Two Birmingham millennials this month hosted a grand opening for one of Birmingham’s newest event venues.
Co-owners Giani Martin and Dezmon Stovall opened Gallery5 at 2023 4th Ave N Birmingham, AL 35203 in a building that makes up 3,800 square feet including 20-foot ceilings, front-facing panoramic windows, and a lofty mezzanine with accent furniture and dimmable lights.
“Gallery5 is the perfect place for weddings ceremonies and receptions, corporate seminars, birthday parties, intimate gatherings. Honestly anything you can think of it is the perfect place for it,” said Martin.
“We got the venue because we didn’t feel like there was a space that fosters an opportunity for young professionals to be under one roof and network with one another. We have so many resources that are adjacent and we need to share them all under one roof,” he added.
The co-owners describe the location as industrial chic.
“Industrial chic explains the uniqueness of the venue,” said Stovall. “When we were remodeling, we chose to keep the original flooring upstairs and the original ceiling patterns. We kept things to a minimal because we want to allow the space to be transformable for any event but, also have the original downtown feel.”
Martin, 28, was raised in Birmingham and after pursuing studies at the University of Alabama, moved back to the city in 2015 and built a career in commercial photography and digital media.
Stovall, 29, is a native of Dothan, AL and moved to Birmingham in July of 2015 to study business management at The University of Alabama at Birmingham and has since held several upper level managerial roles for one of the industry’s top Telecom companies.
The two met in 2020 when Martin’s mom would visit a telecommunications store where Stovall was the manager and suggested the two young men should meet because they had so much in common. The two later learned they had a lot of mutual friends and learned their personal and business interests aligned. Therefore, they decided to become business partners and open Gallery5.
Asked about being downtown, Martin said, “I’ve always been really interested in the growth and development of the city. I feel it is a very energetic time to be in the city. With more people moving downtown and more events occurring it made perfect sense for us to be a part of all of the activities.”
Most exciting about the venue is the potential and opportunities the space can bring to downtown Birmingham and opening a place that will create “good experiences … and events that will be remarkable memories for people to talk about decades from now,” he said.
There are several event spaces in the downtown area but Gallery 5 is unique because “we have a space that can be transformed into anything,” said Martin.
The ultimate goal “is to bring the city something fresh and we are extremely excited to bring a new space downtown that possesses the ability to serve the community in whatever capacity it needs,” Martin said.
Stovall said, “My ultimate goal for Gallery5 is to be one of the city’s go to event venues but, also foster an opportunity to network for young entrepreneurs and aspiring people of color.”
For more on Gallery5 visit Gallery5bhm.com
