Members of Chattanooga’s creative community are indeed interested in having a live work facility that would offer them affordable housing and a place to work, according to findings of a survey done last spring by Artspace Projects Inc.
The findings were presented to the community Tuesday night at Chattanooga WorkSpace, a facility that offers rental space and studios for artists, but not living space.
The survey was conducted last March-May in partnership with ArtsBuild and the Benwood and Lyndhurst foundations. The combined “Survey of Artists and Creative Individuals’ Space Needs and Preferences” and “Survey of Arts, Creative and Cultural Organizations and Businesses” found that there is a large enough demand, a diverse pool of artists/creatives touching a variety of demographics and a sufficient number of businesses that would be interested in moving their operations here to take advantage of a multiuse arts facility.
“The short answer is Artspace found that this is potentially a good market for what they do,” says Rodney Van Valkenberg, director of grants and initiatives with ArtsBuild, which is serving as facilitator for Artspace, a Minneapolis-based organization that develops housing and studio spaces for artists and has built 35 such complexes in 14 states over the past 35 years.
The projects, according to Wendy Holmes, senior vice president of consulting with Artspace, attract creative people with low-priced housing. These artists then, hopefully, provide a spark that leads to improved neighborhoods.