Tom Gantert recently reported in the Ann Arbor News that “Ann Arbor Art Center CEO Marsha Chamberlin sent over a proposal Tuesday that would move the Art Center to 415 W. Washington St., now a city maintenance facility. The City and the Art Center have held informal talks over the last year that have included a potential land-swap deal between the two.”
Some of us remember and loved the Tech Center, which used to be located where the new YMCA is now. And some were glad to see it gone. Whatever your opinion of the Tech Center was, most people agree that since the demise of the Tech Center, there has been little that Ann Arbor has to offer to grassroots artists, who have left for Ypsilanti, Detroit and other places.
I’d like to hear from people who have ideas about 415 W. Washington. How do you think that location could be utilized to support the grassroots artists and musicians who have helped to make Ann Arbor a distinct place that made others want to come and visit? A lot of people feel that we have been losing that difference and perhaps 415 W. Washington could offer some hope to retaining and reviving some of our cultural heritage.
The Tech Center, shown in the photo, was a gritty space that some did not like, but grassroots artists and their supporters loved it. As we plan for our future, we should consider what we need to support local artists and performers. Furthermore, we must plan for how we can have an artist and performance space that is financially viable and therefore sustainable.
12 users commented in " 415 W. Washington and supporting local artists? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackbacki have not lived in ann arbor for years- but teh tech center was an integral part of my life as a kid- i took lessons, participated in productions and performances, and met many of my first arts collegues there throughout high school. . . . my experiences there still inform my life all these years later, and i was very sad to learn it was no more.
most REAL art spaces have grit and grime around the edges. . . . anything less is a shopping mall about to happen. thats the nature of these beasts. the clean, shiny gentrified version just doesn’t cut it- somehow new shiny white walls and short grey carpets just don’t foster the creative splendor a semi-legal abandoned factory does. and the ONLY way for such places to exist is through the power of a near-forgotten act– benign neglect.
benign neglect and all its wonderous creations dissappear FAST- along with all the ARTISTS- when GENTRIFICATION rears its ugly head. and when i go and visit my home town ann arbor, i see gentrification everywhere. high rents, overdevelopment, and commodification destroy art scenes- they become cold, empty, low-quality and LAME. i’ve seen it a hundred times, and like many artists spend more than a small part of my life FLEEING before it!
so i’d say, as a city counciler, the best thing you can do is to seek out and find those gritty, grimey wonderful havens for the underground, take note, and try to do your part to be sure that they are ALLOWED to EXIST!! don’t pubicize them, don’t tell the developers and the downtown business association and the university– just take note, and keep an eye out, so if trouble comes their beautiful underground way, you can (maybe) help fend it off.
happy new year-
katt hernandez
violinist
philadelphia(ann arbor native)
Space for artists doesn’t have to be completely rundown to foster creativity - it’s just that rundown places have traditionally been the cheap places, and cheap space is what many artists (especially new and young ones) need. For non-rundown but still creative spaces, you might take a look at the UM Grad Student studios on S. State or the professor’s studio space on N. Main.
I see good and bad for an AAAC move to 415 W. Washington. On the down side, it takes art even further out of the footpath of visitors. The tourist crowd already doesn’t venture very far from Main Street - they surely won’t make it all the way down to 415. So that’s one less place where artists can get their work in front of viewers. It’s one less place where Ann Arbor artists can connect with fellow Ann Arborites and help shape the flavor and feel of the town.
On the other hand, if there were readily available, reasonably priced studio space at 415, that would be a good thing. There pretty much isn’t any studio space - and certainly not any that fosters a creative community the way individual studios housed in one building does - available in Ann Arbor anymore.
It comes down to mission, I suppose: is the Art Center mission to get local art in front of viewers? If so, then the move isn’t a good thing. Is the Art Center mission to help local artists develop their work and foster a creative community in A2? If so, and a move to 415 includes cheap (subsidized???) studio space, then it’s a good thing. If the mission encompasses both ideas, then the move may be good, but they will need to find a place downtown to showcase the work of local artists that is more accessible to casual lookers & visitors than the space at 415.
agree totally with katt hernandez, previous poster.
well said, katt.
I was a tenant of the Tech Center for several years. It was a great space for me to practice and create.
Nonetheless, as great as its grittiness was, at the time of its demise it had become dangerous to store intruments, let alone its danger as a firetrap. There is a line between gritty and dangerous, and the tech center, victim of non-benign neglect, had reached that point.
The type of neglect it received was the nature of the beast. The owner presented low rents in exchange for zero maintenance.
But 415 could present a great opportunity and a great challenge. If this were Europe, the model for government-support of the arts, and artists’ facilities would already be there. If the attempt is to be an “artistic incubator” there must be cheap rent and no restriction of artistic content.
It was the genius of the “Tech Center” that artists simply found the space and used it. The landlord did not care who moved in. As a result there was no judgement of artistic expression.
The Ann Arbor Art Center seems to focus more on commercially viable and established artists (at least relative to the many of the artists that the Tech Center housed). I think this proposal would make great use of the space, but I wouldn’t be under the illusion that somehow this would recreate the function of the old Tech Center.
Keith Orr
The Ann Arbor Arts Center’s proposal for 415 W. Washington won’t accomplish what is needed here for space for the arts. I agree with Katt that we need funky. Anything that the Arts Center will do in this space–teamed-up with Mckinley–will be too antiseptic and corporate to help us out. Their proposal is yet another butress for the corporatization of just about everything in Ann Arbor.
For a good look at the future for the arts in A2 under alliances such as this one, have a look at the history of the Neutral Zone–a once dynamic kid-centered/run organization that now is reduced to offering safe haven for SAT prep. NZ no longer accomplishes its “kid-centered” goals by selling art and hosting poetry slams, but by “roastings” and golf outings.
If we want 415 for a “real” arts and community performance/events center–that is really run by artists–we’re going to have to real quick come up with some alternatives and a gang of artists to show support. I thinking a public/private (non-profit) partnership. The private part should comprise primarily artists. There would need to be an administrator, but that person should serve at the will of the artists and the artists/tenants/members should have veto power over any board appointments (boards can very easily hijack arts organizations).
I have to admit that for this site, I’m wearing two hats. I support the greenway and I want to make sure that all the artists don’t have to move to Ypsilanti. What i had envisioned for the space was bare minimum of fix-up for the building (not cheap) that would primarily accomodate studios for mucisians and artists. On the ground floor, since there will always be flooding threats, we could leave that space open for performances and art shows or other community events.
The greenway part of the property would host a sculpture garden. Because artists would be there 24/7, the greenway/sculpture garden would always be peopled. The 24/7 bit is very important here–no corporate mommy or daddy hanging around making sure that none of the tenants make a mess or act “inappropriately”.
The other thing to think about here is the imnportance and nature of public and civic space. The “agora” in American life has been shrinking even faster than than the artic ice caps. Democracy depends on the chance encounters of citizens with each other in public spaces where we have no choice but to tolerate t-shirts and hair styles not of our liking; and where our own opinions benefit from bumping up against the opinions of others.
Our city is now contemplating the sale of both 415 W. washington and 721 N. main (I’ve got ideas for community use of that space as well). This does not bode well for the future of community space in Ann Arbor. Remember once these public properties are gone from the public use, they’re gone for good.
Courage! Lou Glorie
I am a Greenway supporter and see space for arts, including performing arts, as part of the greenway. I haven’t seen the Art Association latest proposal but based on past discussions I thought the plan was to move Art association offices and the studios now on Felch to the 415 W Washington site and then sell the current downtown building and Felch site. The Felch site would make the city yard at N Main more attractive to developers. Proceeds from sale of the N Main site would help fund the proposed new police/courts facility .
415 W Washington won’t necessarily be cheap space for artists. In fact, AA Art Assoc director Marsha Chamberlin talked about renting space for corporate events as a way to cover the Art Assoc budget at one of the Calthorpe workshop meetings.
In my opinion, pushing to keep W Washington in city hands and have it converted into an arts facility similar to the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria Va is a better bet to get space for artists than sale to the Art Association.
I think lots of small, cheap studio spaces would be good. If it was possible to rent a tiny studio for $50/mo, I’d be there. I like how the art center in Ypsi (on Huron) has a public gallery and stage that the artists can use too. They have nice studio spaces there, and for good rates considering how big they are but they’re still too expensive for a part time artist like me. Many small, inexpensive spaces would be nice.
In the series of Calthorpe meetings Margaret Chamberlian, director of the Ann Arbor Association, made the following statements:
1.The Art association has studio space available for rent now. It is priced below market value but we have difficulty renting the space.
2.If the Art Association develops the Washington Street site we will have a location for corporation events.
The Art Association rents studio space at about $12/sqft. This is below the market rate for office or retail space in Ann Arbor. The technology Center rented for about half this rate. Some of the studios were very nice, some were not so nice. The Martin School Project in Toledo rents studio space for $5 to $6/sqft.
I do not believe it is possible to renovate the existing building and rent it for $12/sqft and recover the renovation cost. New construction would be much more. The rent most artists can afford is simply too low to support renovation or new construction. The Art Association recognizes this and does not intend to use the site for studio space.
I do not think selling the Washington site to the Art Association will benefit the artists of Ann Arbor
I’m glad that there is an active proposal for the 415 W. Washington site. The current building is very unattractive and run-down. The large surface parking lot to store city vehicles is not a great use of this valuable downtown site. I didn’t visit this part of downtown much before the new Y was built, but I do see an increased street vitality in this area as a result of the YMCA. Any proposal for 415 W. Washington should add to that vitality. I haven’t seen the Art Center’s proposal - but from what was described in the paper, it certainly seems that it would add to the revitilization of this block of downtown. The limitations the floodway puts on this site will require some creative design and architecture. I think the Y did a great job of keeping the street active, even though most of the 1st floor use of their site is parking and storm detention. I would expect a building dedicated to the arts would be even more creative in this regard.
There are two ways the Washington site could be used to benefit artists.
The first is simply use the site “as is†with little renovation or renovation by tenant. This approach may be possible for some parts of the Washington site. I would support it as a temporary solution to prevent the sale of the property, but I do not think it is a practical for the long term. There are simply too many visual, flood plain and potential building code problems.
The second, which I prefer, is a garden or open space that would include art shows, exterior art exhibits, outdoor performing arts, etc. In general I do not like the idea of the city supporting artist studio space. the amount of space will be limited and there are too many issues of what type or class of art or artist, and what specific artists are going to receive the benefits that the rest of us will subsidize. I am much more supportive of public display space or performance areas with wide access.
The North Main maintenance building seems much more practical for performing arts or video studio space than the Washington building.
I wish to focus my comments on the need to provide a facility and resources for artists (both visual and performance) rather than which facility and the particulars.
I work with local musicians at AnnArborAlive.com, primarily promoting local music through our internet radio broadcasts and live performances. I also have close ties to several painter organizations.
It is undeniable that artist have fled from Ann Arbor as they’ve been unable to find affordable studio space.
At the same time the internet is nurturing unique opportunities for artist to present their art, build their audience and collaborate with other artists. In addition to studio space an Ann Arbor artist facility could serve as a focal point to leverage the new internet advantages.
If Ann Arbor recognizes that we are pricing artist out of the city and is motivated to correct that loss and actively support the artist community, there is no reason that Ann Arbor couldn’t become as much a center for musical talent as Austin Texas.
There are already organizations that are ready to participate at a higher level.
I’m a former director of the Washtenaw Council for the Arts and a local business and arts/entertainment lawyer. I’ve represented several artists and musicians who were tenants of the Tech Center, and I agree that Ann Arbor has lost the ‘outsider art’ and edgier artists to Ypsilanti and the Detroit area. Glenn Thompson’s price points look accurate to me. Many small businesses can’t afford $12sf, let alone individual artists. That may be a “sustainable” and “financially viable” price for renovated space, but it’s not going to be affordable to the majority of artists and performers (there’s a reason they tend to inhabit run-down and industrial buildings). Arts and culture are a key attraction of Ann Arbor–if our community can set up and support business incubators, we should also be serious about setting up and supporting artist incubators, and 415 W. Washington would be a great location for that. It’s one thing to have a great idea, and another thing to fund those building renovations, that really weighs in favor of AAAC.
That being said, AAAC is going to move somewhere–I am assuming the move is being driven by a need for more space. Sad to see them move off the Main Street business district–their flags are a key visual clue to the prominence of arts and cultural life here in A2. I have no doubt their current building is worth enough to fund the renovation of the 415 W. Washington structure or the construction of a completely new building on that site. Knowing nothing about the proposal, I would want more information–Is this really a swap? The City of Ann Arbor is going to buy the property? As a holding property, or with a proposed civic use? Is there any way to tie the swap to a subsidized rate for small individual artist studios?
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