Champion of local art Tom Tipton, whose belief in making creativity accessible remains at the heart of the Out of the Blue gallery, died Thursday at 75. “Camberville’s godfather of local art,” as Tipton was described by friend and gallery owner Parama Chattopadhyay, spent decades creating a space for emerging artists. “Tom could find that talent in anyone,” Chattopadhyay, also known as Parma Chai, said Monday. “Even if they didn’t have enough talent or guts to do it, he would make them feel so good that they would keep working at it.”
Out of the Blue – now in the Armory community arts building in Somerville’s Spring Hill but facing an uncertain future – took on many forms and inhabited multiple spaces across Greater Boston in the past 37 years. Tipton was the lifeblood of each iteration.
“I somehow managed to found Out of the Blue Gallery – not deliberately, it’s something that just evolved,” Tipton said at a 2017 gathering at the Boston State House calling for support for local art. “And as I became aware of the directions it was evolving, I thought, ‘This is a good thing.’”
The gallery was born in the late 1980s from a group of artists, including Tipton, Deborah Priestly and Sue Carlin, with one idea in mind: Art should be accessible to all. “Tom at that time was a photographer who worked on cars,” Chattopadhyay said. “And just because of his approachable spirit, they decided, ‘You’re going to be our champion.’”
Space for all
Tipton quickly became a leading presence in the scene across Greater Boston and is described as the patron saint of local art by many who remember him. He died Thursday at a local hospital from a bout of pneumonia after an otherwise successful double bypass surgery. Plans for a memorial have yet to be shared.
Tipton’s partner, Samantha Lueck, confirmed the death to Chattopadhyay on Sunday night. Chattopadhyay shared the news in a Facebook post early Monday that now has more than 100 comments. Tipton’s own Facebook profile is flooded with testimonials from friends and fans, many of whom credit him and Out of the Blue with giving them a start in the art world.
“Before I knew what I was doing, Tom encouraged me to do it anyway and provided all the means for me to follow through,” said one post by Tracy Chevrolet. “By sharing his space and his encouragement, he helped me get my start performing music, and for that I’m forever grateful.”
“Because of Tom, it was truly an inclusive space for a wide array of outsider art and outsiders, a judgment-free zone,” said another post by Anda Volley. “It’s hard for me to imagine another first public space that would have been as immediately welcoming, inclusive and encouraging to so many.”
An institution’s journey
Out of the Blue began with art house parties in Chinatown, grew to its first permanent location at 168 Brookline St., Cambridgeport, in 1995, then moved to a small space on 106 Prospect St., The Port, where there was a basement for people to stay in. “From his own huge heart, he operated this bric-a-brac gallery that everybody loved, and he also housed a lot of the homeless on his own dime, which wasn’t many dimes,” Chattopadhyay said.
The gallery expanded to 541 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, in 2015, around the time Chattopadhyay became involved as Tipton’s volunteer business manager. The heart of the Massachusetts Avenue gallery was the basement, where Tipton hosted hundreds of shows. “He was there every night. He was there watching all the shows,” Chattopadhyay said. “He’s hosted so many garage bands that his hearing was lost years ago.”
The space Tipton created at every location was disorganized but welcoming. There were people and animals everywhere, with “no real order to things,” Chattopadhyay described, “but there were brilliant people.” He hosted workshops for disabled and handicapped people and provided opportunities for artists to network.
“The mission that he came in with was that we can make ourselves stronger artists, we can make our community a stronger community if we believe that the power is there,” Chattopadhyay said. “And if it isn’t there, we nourish it till we get there.”
Connecting with the Saters
Out of the Blue couldn’t afford to stay on Massachusetts Avenue for long, and the gallery, Tipton and his beloved malamute XO moved into Chattopadhyay’s home in Medford. They hosted smaller shows, art parties and community gatherings, and in 2018 caught the attention of Joseph Sater, whose family owns the Middle East nightclubs in Cambridge and the The FireHouse at 14 Harvard Ave., Allston.
“They said, ‘Tom knows all the artists and Parma never stops,’” Chattopadhyay said. For decades, Tipton was sending artists to The Middle East and filling the spaces around the stages with art and music. “He really established an arts center here, and we were honored and blessed to work with him,” co-owner Nabil Sater said. “We worked together and we were very good friends through the whole duration, which is 40-plus years. That’s an honor, and we are proud to know a person like him.”
Out of the Blue rented a third-floor space at the FireHouse, and for a few years Tipton and Chattopadhyay shared responsibility for hosting shows and managing the space. Over time, Tipton got a full time job at the AutoValue nearby, moved out of the gallery space where he was living and met Lueck.
After dedicating decades to the local arts, Tipton began to take a step back from the gallery in mid 2020. “He was always on the sidelines,” Chattopadhyay said, “but we were really just so happy that he had found the love of his life and we were so excited that he could get some rest.” Tipton spent the final years of his life in nature, tending to his garden and cultivating a home with Lueck.
Next for the gallery
Chattopadhyay led Out of the Blue in 2021 to its current home at the Armory – then owned by the Saters – in Somerville. The gallery features local artwork and is a venue for shows and community gatherings. It is a live-work space for Chattopadhyay and her partner.
The Armory was seized from the Saters by the city of Somerville in a $5 million eminent domain land taking in May 2021. A finalized plan for the building was released this summer outlining the process for tenants to reapply for residency. While Chattopadhyay plans to apply, she cited a complicated history with the city that could uproot the gallery. She said is considering sites in Cambridge, Arlington and Salem and should a move be necessary. She is finalizing a petition calling on the city and new Armory Advisory Board to accept the gallery – if not at the Armory then at another location in Somerville.
Despite previously expressing confidence that the board would reject her application, Chattopadhyay now has hope that Tipton’s legacy could keep the gallery in its home. “Tom believed that the whole idea of how to build community arts is freedom of speech and freedom of art,” Chattopadhyay said. “I think that Tom is saying down from the heavens, ‘Make it big now, don’t be afraid.’”
A stronger
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