Dana Mattice, Artspace Press Release
Minneapolis, January 29, 2019— Artspace Projects announced today recommendations following one year of engagement with arts communities in Northwest Arkansas to examine space needs, with support provided by the Walton Family Foundation. Through feasibility studies, arts market studies, and cultural asset mapping, report findings reveal intense regional growth resulting in market pressure forces that make attainable space for artists and arts organizations less accessible. The report also reveals high demand: Of more than 800 surveyed, more than 80% are interested in either live/work space or private studios. Study results will be released in public information sessions January 29 – 30, 2019, with one meeting available in each of the four communities studied: Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, and Springdale. Sessions will include recommended arts space concepts for each city, and time for questions.
“The Artspace team has visited 500 communities over our 40 years in operation, and the rapid growth that we witnessed within Northwest Arkansas is unprecedented, bringing unique challenges to the area,” said Wendy Holmes, Artspace Senior Vice President of Consulting. “The need for attainable, stabilizing spaces for artists and arts organizations in Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, and Springdale is paramount to retain the vibrant creative class, and to continue to develop a thriving arts economy.”
Report Findings and Public Information Schedule
Over the course of one year of activities in Northwest Arkansas, Artspace staff hosted 12 focus groups with 236 participants; eight community meetings with more than 500 attendees; and some 50 private meetings with individuals. Ultimately, more than 800 artists responded to an online survey, with 82% interested in space for the arts. 24% expressed interested in live/work space, and 25% in private studio space that is very affordable. Report findings reveal demand for up to 80 live/work units and more than 35 private studios, regionwide.
The public is invited to attend four free information sessions—one in each of the four cities that Artspace has worked in—where the Artspace team will reveal findings in depth, and showcase arts space recommendations for each of the four cities.
The schedule:
- 5:30 - 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 at the Arts Center of the Ozarks (214 S Main St, Springdale, AR 72764)
- 7:30 – 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, at Haxton Road Studios (222 SE 2nd St #100, Bentonville, AR 72712)
- 5:30 – 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, at Fayetteville Roots Festival Headquarters (15 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701)
- 7 – 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, at the Rogers Experimental House (121 W Walnut St, Rogers, AR 72756)
To view highlights from the report findings, including priority concepts for each city, please visit https://www.artspace.org/sites/default/files/downloads/NWA_ArtspaceRecommendationsforPublicMeetings.pdf.
About Artspace Projects, Inc.
Artspace is a nonprofit organization that uses the tools of real estate development to create affordable places where artists can live and work. Artspace consistently develops these projects in ways that support stable, healthy communities, anchored in existing assets. Because Artspace owns each of the projects it develops, they are able to ensure that the spaces remain affordable and accessible to artists in perpetuity. With 50 projects developed over the last three decades, Artspace has supported artist-led community transformation, representing a $653 million investment in America's arts infrastructure. While embracing the value the arts bring to individual lives, Artspace has championed the once-radical idea that both artists living with financial hardship, and chronically underfunded arts organizations, can leverage fundamental social change. With headquarters in Minneapolis and offices in Denver, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, and Washington D.C., Artspace is America's leading developer of arts facilities; and has served as a consultant to hundreds of communities and arts organizations nationwide. www.artspace.org
MEDIA CONTACTS
Artspace Communications Director Tio Aiken: Tio.Aiken@artspace.org, 612.321.1841
Artspace Communications Specialist Dana Mattice: Dana.Mattice@artspace.org, 612.757.7511