"Welcome to my home," local artist Felecia Clark-Viou told a group of fellow artists, investors, community activists and art lovers filling the lower level of Artspace on Thursday. A grand opening was held to celebrate the Artspace Uptown Artists Lofts that opened earlier this year in the former Warren Building at 717 Franklin St. Clark-Viou was among several speakers that applauded the completion of the Artspace live/work units. "I'm proud to be part of an artistic community that endeavors to try to inject diversity into everything they do," she said. Living among fellow artists, Clark-Viou said, is like living among family – everyone encourages each other. Running the event was Councilman Tim Bietry who made the first phone call to Artspace back in 2008 to see if they would consider renovating a vacant building in Michigan City – an idea that was born in the local art community.
The project was made possible through public and private partnerships and with the coming together of city funds, corporate sponsorships, individual donations and philanthropic contributions. Rich Murphy, former councilman and current city controller, has been involved with bringing Artspace to the city for years. He was among those celebrating the grand opening on Thursday saying, "The battle was fierce, but the victory is so sweet." He said the Uptown Artist Lofts succeeded because people believed in the future of Michigan City. By investing in the biggest vacant building squarely in the center of the downtown, he said, this building has become the symbol of Michigan City's comeback story...