ArtSpace is a national organization, headquartered in Minneapolis, which works to transform communities through the arts. The organization runs 33 affordable, artist-housing facilities throughout the country, in both urban and rural areas, that help improve the livability of their neighborhoods by repurposing old or abandoned buildings to attract artists to live and work in the community.

Artspace works with both community leaders and local artists to facilitate the most effective integration of arts into participating neighborhoods. With the focus being on blighted communities, the program appeals to community leaders as a cheap way to boost the aesthetic appeal and safety of the neighborhood by using volunteers to redevelop abandoned buildings. Many times, the facilities chosen are historic buildings in neglected neighborhoods that are under the threat of demolition. Artspace offers a constructive alternative to demolition by making the building a means of economic empowerment for the community.

These repurposed facilities are then used to attract artists to the community by turning them into affordable housing. Most affordable housing units are in mixed-use neighborhoods, and each has a studio space that caters to the artists’ creative process. Artists must apply for the chance to live in the Artspace facility, and all applicants are reviewed by a panel of Artspace experts and community interests. The artists then work in the community to help revitalize the neighborhood through both public arts projects and commercial sales of their work.

The facilities used range from an abandoned hotel, like the former Hotel Kaddatz and Fergus Fall, Minnesota, to a school devastated by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, now the Bell School Arts Campus. Artspace also manages the assets of the facilities to make sure the housing remains affordable and works with local artists to keep the profits in the community. Participating communities have benefited tremendously from the integration of arts into their neighborhoods, and many more Artspace projects are in development today.

For more information, visit: http://www.artspace.org/