Aug 27, 2020 - Culture

New South End apartment complex is giving away 6 months of free rent to an artist

Brianna Crane

Hub South End free rent for artists header

Hub, a new art-focused apartment complex in South End, is offering six months of free rent for one artist who will be selected for its artist-in-residence program.

The artist who’s selected will get to live in a studio or one-bedroom apartment — depending on what’s available — rent-free for six months in exchange for their work. They can choose to rent for 12 months and get half off each month or upgrade to a two-bedroom and pay the difference. The smallest studio apartment starts at $1,395 a month.

Hub’s sister properties, The Collective in NoDa and Three30Five also in South End, have an artist-in-residence program already in play. The program will be ongoing at all three properties, meaning new artists will have the chance to participate in the future.

Kyle Mosher is the current artist-in-residence at Three30Five — and also helped with the “I” in Uptown’s Black Lives Matter street mural — he says the relationship has been mutually beneficial.

“I’m extremely grateful for Michael Bowden and Ashley Saulpaugh at RAM Realty who had the vision and belief in me and offered me this opportunity,” he says. “Something like this requires a great bit of trust, but also an appreciation for what art can do for a community.”

Mosher says this sort of collaboration is what creates a strong art ecosystem.

More program details: Applications are due September 10 and a decision will be made by September 24. The artist can move in before December 1. Apply here.

The artist will also get a fixed budget to complete the art project, as well as a parking pass and access to the complex’s amenities — a pool, pizza oven, co-working space, etc.

Who should apply: The opportunity is open to all artists, from musicians to painters to chefs. The artist will be chosen based on a number of items, including their ability to engage Hub South End.

Art-focused community: Hub South End lives a little like an art gallery. The complex worked with Art House Charlotte to curate 29 original pieces of artwork from 15 different local artists, says Rachel Russell Krenz, Director of Real Estate Development for Ram Realty Services.

The visual treats start outside with “The Hive” mosaic by Grace Stott, “South End Porch” by Laura Tate and Sharon Dowell, and “Intertwined,” a mural by Sharon Dowell. You can even download a free coloring book of The Hive.

The rest of the art is displayed throughout the complex’s shared spaces to create a stimulating, inspiring environment.

Zoom out: Beige cookie-cutter apartment communities are on the outs as complexes try to make their spaces feel more like Charlotte with public art including murals painted on exterior walls and gallery-like lobbies and shared spaces.

Broadstone Queen City, another new apartment complex less than two miles from Hub South End, worked with art curator Hope Cohn Projects to commission works from local artists, too.

“Programs like this show the rest of the world that Charlotte is in fact a creative city,” Mosher says. “Calling something an ‘Art City’ means more than just a city with a bunch of artists. In the case of Charlotte, it’s a city that nurtures and incubates its talent, but also has a strong economy to support art and it doesn’t get enough credit for that.

“This is what gives cities life,” he adds, “not just the plan and stagnant cookie-cutter art, but giving artists creative control to go big, there are no rules in art. It’s the wild west.”