Artspace celebrates 40 years of giving artists space in downtown Raleigh
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Photo: Courtesy of Artspace
Back in 1986, the city of Raleigh had an idea to use the arts as a way to make downtown more vibrant — a topic that was pertinent then and remains top of mind today.
- Then it was the City Market area that was decaying and becoming an eyesore, and leaders like Raleigh Mayor Smedes York threw their support behind art as a way to turn the area around.
Why it matters: 40 years later, that idea continues to have legs, as Artspace, a nonprofit that provides subsidized studio spaces for artists and exhibitions in the heart of downtown, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
Zoom in: Artspace today is a hive of artistry that many people may accidentally skip over. Artists are now scattered throughout 201 E. Davie St. — a 30,000-square-foot building that used to be a Ford auto dealership, and before that, horse stables.
- Artspace has more than 30 studios for artists that the nonprofit rents at a subsidized rate, which is critical for many artists who are getting priced out by rising costs in Raleigh.
- It has three exhibition spaces that provide emerging artists and visiting artists with the opportunity to display works to the public, and it provides artists-in-residence grants that help emerging artists from diverse backgrounds to take a chance at an art career.
- And it also has classroom space for the hundreds of local students who visit to learn different forms of art, from painting and mixed media to sculpture and fabric arts.
The big picture: Unlike some private art spaces, Artspace is meant to be completely part of the community, Carly Prentis Jones, the nonprofit's CEO, told Axios. Around 60,000 people come through Artspace every year, she said, for a variety of reasons.
- It's a centerpiece of the city's thriving First Friday arts nights, hosting hundreds of people, and it requires the artists who work there to have 15-20 public-facing hours every week, where anyone from the public could conceivably come and encounter their work.
What they're saying: "We love our museums, but you can't buy the art right off the wall, right?" Jones said.
- "When kids come and do field trips [at Artspace]," she added, "they're not just going through the exhibitions, they're learning to make art like what they just saw on the walls. They're meeting artists that live in their communities."
What's next: Jones said she is committed to keeping Artspace relevant in downtown Raleigh for the foreseeable future.
- Thankfully, she says, Artspace owns its building, and brings in revenue from its classes, studio and space rents.
- But it takes a constant cycling of grants and donations to make Artspace thrive and meet its mission of bringing in new artists, she said.
"In my opinion, it's important for us to talk to folks that are not only arts folks," she said about fundraising. "We have to talk to people about how we can be part of the solution that everyone cares about."
- "You may not care about the arts, but you care about downtown, you care about children, you care about mental health," she said. "Let me tell you about how the arts can help that."
