As the art world turns

If the quiver carrying the news of Midtown's Bows & Arrows' closure at the end of January hasn't pierced your flesh yet, consider it done now. After the vintage-clothing and -furniture shop—and sometimes event space—relocated from L and 17th streets to its current space on 19th Street in 2011, it added a bar, cafe, music venue and art gallery under its umbrella.

Some Sacramentans were critical that the business had too much going on, with the retail, eatery and fine-art elements all in the same space. But it served as gathering spot for creative folks, DIYers, people who'd rather look at art and play (self-proclaimed) nerdy board games on a Thursday night instead of going to a lounge and listening to a deejay spin pop-radio tunes. Its closure will leave a gaping hole for these folks and artists who exhibited there.

Some other arts space will eventually come along and fill the hole, but for now, the final exhibition at Bows is an installation is by Liz Barton and Skye Bergen, the interactive Mobile Sound Lab. It's a ramshackle booth made up of vintage doors, tin cans, drum heads, and other odds and ends, plus a mic and iPad, so the viewer can play and record compositions and upload it to SoundCloud to share with the world over the Internet, which is kind of a perfect denouement for Bows. Its last day of business is on Friday, January 31.