David Ruiz looks at results of a survey conducted by Artspace Projects Inc. that assessed the space needs of those working in the arts and creative industries in Chattanooga at Chattanooga Workspace on Tuesday.BY THE NUMBERS• 591: Number of people who filled out the survey• 316 (54 percent): People who expressed an interest in relocating to an affordable live/work community• 210 (36 percent): People who expressed an interest in renting studio or creative work space. (A total of 108 of those expressed interest in renting space only; 102 expressed interest in both living and renting space)• 157 (27 percent): People who expressed an interest in renting studio or creative space on an occasional basis• 96: Organizations and businesses that completed the survey• 74 (77 percent): Businesses or organizations that said a multi-use arts facility would be attractive to them• 63: Number of those 74 businesses that said they would be interested in relocating, expanding into or launching a new enterprise in a new, multiuse facility in the areaSource: Artspace Projects Inc. survey
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.