Taking the Lead: Who Might Develop an Artist Space Project?

• INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
• • How to Use This Guidebook
  • Lease vs. Own: Making Space for Art
  • Taking the Lead
  • Features of Artist Space Development
• GET TO WORK
  
• FORMING A TEAM
• ON LOCATION
• FINANCE

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Photo courtesy of Open Book.

Artist Space Development has a wide range of stakeholders and potentially a comparable number of leaders ranging from individual artists to local muncipalities. Here are a handful of examples:

Publicly-Led ASD Projects

Often through public/private initiatives, a city can assist in the development of artist space by providing direct funding or by supporting initiatives through the reuse of public land.

Non-profit and For-profit ASD

For-profit developers often identify an unfilled need for artist space and embark on these projects either with or without public subsidies. The Clippership Development in Boston serves as an example.

Nonprofit developers, which may take the form of a nonprofit organization or subsidiary nonprofit organization with a commercial parent, may initiate artist space projects not only to address the space needs of artists, but also to promote cultural equity and/or revitalize distressed communities. Artspace, a long-time leader in ASD is a non-profit real estate developer that focuses exclusively on creating affordable spaces for artists to live and work.

Community Development Corporations (CDCs) 

Like non-profit developers, CDCs may invest in ASD projects for both the economic and social returns that artist space projects can bring to communities. In fact, CDC involvement has proven to be an endorsement for artist space in the eyes of some lenders and funders who have a comfort level in working with CDCs and no or little experience in working with artists.¹ For example, Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation and Madison Park CDC in Roxbury, Massachusetts were critical partners in the development of local artist spaces.

Artist and Art Organizations as Developers

Artists, independently or as part of a group, can take leadership roles in development projects. Professional resources and counsel are likely to be essential to the project's long-term success, however, artists and/or arts organizations can be the catalyst for creating dynamic facilities. One consideration of many, however, is that artists and arts organizations "typically need to demonstrate an artist space track record (the record of the performance of the organization) or require outside validation to establish credibility in the community development funding world.”²  They may be further aided by partnering with an experienced developer (whether it is a CDC, another non-profit, or a for-profit).

Useful case studies that embody the range of leadership roles artists and arts organizations can occupy regarding ASD may be found in three particular facilities. 300 Summer Street in Boston, where a group of artists hired consultants to help acquire, design, rehabilitate and finance the facility.³ Similarly The Fenway Studios, also in Boston, were structured as a limited-equity cooperative, and were able to find investors to purchase and renovate the property.⁴  Finally, when the Acme Artists Community in Chicago “failed to find a commercial developer or a CDC, the art organization, working with local artists, started on its own with outside funding, they also worked with non-profit real estate financial consultant to assemble loan packaging."