Artspace-- no longer for artists?
February 16th, 2007
Has Artspace gentrified itself? According to several long-time tenants their mission is no longer to help artists but instead to make money.
 |
|---|
Salt Lake City, UT--Anyone familiar with Salt Lake City has probably heard of Gallery Stroll and Artspace on Pierpont Avenue. Filled with an eclectic mix of local artists and shops-- for nearly 30 years Artspace has enticed local talent to occupy studios spaces in what was once a dilapidated neighborhood. Their lure: big studios for cheap rent.
Over the years the artists studios have changed hands and today Artspace is occupied with much more that just artists. Across the street are two attorney offices- two spaces are now occupied by high-end architetural firms.
Despite the many changes, there are still a few artists who have personally witnessed the huge turn around the neighboorhood realized. Mike Green has had his glass studio in Artspace for the past 20 years. Green says he has witnessed a dramatic change to the area all around his studio and apartment.
"When I first moved in here I could watch guys at the loading lock sit there and shoot up heroine."
Artspace began in the late seventies when some local artists had a bold idea: convert one of the many abandoned warehouses into space they could use to as for art studios.
"I don't think that the city saw the great value of the abandoned warehouses at the time and it took the local artists with great vision to see the value that was there," says Jackie Skibine, Development Director for Artspace.
Valuable indeed. The warehouses that the Artspace corporation now owners and operates are estimated to have a value of well over 20 million dollars.
Operating under their non-profit umbrella, Artspace has become one of the largest development companies in downtown Salt Lake City. Artspace has recently completed projects in the former rubber and tire factory, attached to their offices they have a project the call "Bridges". Artspace is also just breaking ground on massive housing project in West Salt Lake City. From all the housing Artspace offers- the new Arspace begs an obvious question: What qualifies a tennant to be an artist in Arspace?
"You have to be a low-income household to qualify to live here,"says Skibine
No we don't punish success. There have been some success stories..but we typically will allow them to stay as long as their lease complies with the tax subsidies we get from the Government."
Norman Klein has been operating his video production facility out of Artspace Pierpont for the past 20 years. Klein believes Artspace has completely lost touch with their original vision.
"You ever seen that show weekend at Bernies? Artspace is like that dead Bernie, they are hauling around this dead thing they call art...the only kind of art they are doing is con-art."
Many consider the Pierpont avenue studios to be much more than just space for artists. Many residents attribute Artspace for the huge rebound that the warehouse district of Salt Lake City has seen in recent years.
All around Artspace buildings going up. Apartments in the past ten-years have nearly tripled in value. Salt Lake City's population had been in decline during the 1990s and now its a rapidly growing becoming somewhat of a mini-metropolis.
Artspace on Pierpont has a very tenuous future: The Artspace corporation has decided not to renew the lease on the Pierpont studios because they are no longer interested in leasing property they don't own.
Angela Brown is the editor of SLUG magazine. She has been a part of the property for the past 15 years. Brown also feels Artspace is turing their backs on the project that established their own success.
"We have seen this neighboorhood skyrocket in property value. A lot of younger professionals have moved in. Which has been really good for this neighboorhood in a lot of ways...It was an industrial neighboorhood back then Artspace was virtually the only living area here, other than that everything else was just businesses...It is sad to see us potentially be forced out. Its also sad to see Artspace kind of turn their back on this property and not renuew their leases on their flashship, first location. Its sad to see this central nucleus where Gallery Stroll started just become abandoned," says Brown.
What does glass artist Mike Green think about this prospect?
"I have to deal with the possibility that I may not be able to stay here...That used to cause a lot of anxiety for me, but lately I come to think the less time I spend thinking about it the better off I am, if it happens it happens,"says Green.
Brown says that she and SLUG Magazine plan on staying in Artspace Pierpont as long as they possibly can.
After February Mike Green will no longer have Artspace as a landlord the management is now being handled by a local property management company that has no immediate plans to evict tenants or raise rents. Its clear from those we spoke to that what most of the artists are really interested in is getting a more long-term lease and more certainty for their future.
We would like to hear from you. Comment on this story on our development blog
(Support UtahStories.com Sugar House coverage by visiting our advertisers)