build community. make art. fight dread.
Established in 2025, Oblivion Cinema & arts is an independent art store, creative education studio, gallery, event space and occasional micro-cinema.
You might be asking yourself;
“What does that all mean?”
and We get that.
To answer that question, it might be best to start at the beginning of Oblivion’s origin story.
Our tale starts with a filmmaker, a writer and graphic designer, and a painter who had a common goal in mind—to create a place where artists, craftsfolk, makers, thinkers, and dreamers could gather to create, collaborate, find community, and take action. As this founding team was brainstorming of ways to make this goal a reality, they started to joke about what they, as artists, would like to see in Richmond, Indiana; a place where they could source art supplies (and find more unusual materials); a place where they could explore more fine (and unrefined) art and craft practices; a place where they could show their art and experience the art of others; a place where they and other folks could gather and collaborate and celebrate and create together.
But how could such a place exist, and if so, how would one define it? Potential categories were emerging as the team delved further into their pursuit: store: studio: workspace: cinema: event space.
Which one should they choose to pursue? What if, just maybe, they didn’t choose and took a shot at designing a place that could hold space for all of those ideas?
Cut to four months later, and the team is opening the doors to Oblivion Cinema & Arts, a third space workplace where patrons can create, source the supplies that they can create with, and share their creations, as well as experience the creations of others.
THIRD PLACE, COMMON SPACE
No purchase is necessary to gather in our communal workspace during normal retail hours—patrons are welcome to come in, hang out, gather, create, and leave as they please. To maintain this open environment, we fund our operations through our retail art store, which sources both new and alternative art supplies (think seconhand, vintage, deadstock, and salvaged materials), as well as through our ticket sales for our mirco-cinema screenings, classes, gallery sales, and event space rentals. By supporting these initiatives, patrons help our team to keep the space accessible and vibrant for everyone, allowing us to continue to foster a create community where all are welcome to explore, create, and inspire.
sHOP sMALL, sUPPORT lOCAL/ wASTE LESS, CREATE MORE
At Oblivion Cinema & Arts, we are committed to sourcing new brands and types of art supplies from well-known companies and independent creator. In addition to offering conventional, new supplies, we also source vintage, deadstock, secondhand, and recovered materials. This rotating collection is ever-evolving, growing alongside our creative community’s needs and inspirations. By embracing this dynamic strategy, we aim to minimize waste, foster opportunities for alternative material exploration, and encourage artists to push the boundaries of what art can be (and what art can be made with).
We accept donations of new and gently used art supplies that can be used in our program offerings (see more below) or redistributed on our pay-what-you-can shelf. All funds collected from the sale of these items goes to subsidizing our free workspace, our free and pay-what-you-can classes, and to pay fair wages to our staff members, all of whom are working artists.
Classes Crafted With Community In Mind
Art should be accessible. At Oblivion Cinema & Arts, we are committed to offering a variety of of fine art and craft education classes at accessible price points. Many of our workshops and club gatherings are run on a free or pay-what-you-can model, and we encourage folks of all skill levels to join us in the space. Our community class schedule can be found on the events page of our website as well as on our social media profiles.
multi-purpose, single screen
On select Saturdays each month, our studio space converts into a micro-cinema that seats up to 25 patrons. Visit our micro-cinema page to learn more about screening dates and titles!
Host Your Next Gathering In Our Space!
We also offer custom class creation services to patrons interested in hosting their next birthday party, pals’ night, team-building workshop, or creatively-inclined celebration in the studio at Oblivion Cinema & Arts. Whether it be painting or sketching, sculpture or linocut, we would love to make your next get-together a success. Additional information on custom classes can be found on our rentals page or be sent by emailing oblivioncinemaandarts@gmail.com.