Imagine…..

Strolling down Liberty from Main Street ………

Feel the pleasure of entering the greenway

Listen to music play

Hear the voices of children

See an artist sketching

Watch a potter throwing a pot

Marvel at dancers rehearsing in a studio within your sight.

To find out all the details about the plan for 415 Washington Street, click here: 415WashingtonRFP.
or read the summary below!

THE VISION

We envision a gathering spot for locals of all ages—artists, learners, teachers, neighbors. We envision a spot that will attract visitors and future locals to the city by what this offers. Our proposal seeks to weave the people through the site by innovative use of the greenway, parking, passive and active use, public art, and creative rain water management techniques that mix art and environmental stewardship.

It creates a vibrant central location for culture and recreation in the downtown. The center for the arts will connect the community with the arts in formal and informal ways and provide a destination for the community and visitors from the region to engage in and enjoy the arts in many ways.

The visual arts, theater, dance, music and literary arts will have a facility that fosters collaborations between individuals and organization.

PROPOSED USES

The Art Center proposes uses consistent with its current facilities as a center for the visual arts. There will be the following:

• An exhibition gallery for professional artist exhibitions
• Two galleries for community artist shows and art center constituent shows
• Gallery Shop space that represents gift type original work for sale
• Teaching studios, several of which will be multi-purpose, one dedicated to children, one for jewelry and one for clay (pottery, tilemaking and sculpture).
• Office space for 12 Art Center staff, volunteers and interns
• Meeting rooms space for use by Art Center staff, teachers, board and volunteers.
• A café is planned for inside the building. The café will serve the needs of students and groups gathering for activity and will also be a community venue.
• Larger public space for such things as theater and dance rehearsals (whose performances will be in other locations), recurring gatherings of groups like the Ann Arbor Friends of Traditional Music and Dance and for one-time gatherings that are social in nature.

The site is also designed for outdoor events or events that can flow from inside to outside. The Art Center has an earned income stream from space rental. Weddings, private parties, corporate events and trainings are a few examples. It is anticipated that these will continue at the new location.

The new center will accomplish a long standing goal of the City of Ann Arbor to address a significant need for art space in the community. Its 2005 widely publicized artists’ space survey received responses from producing organizations, individual artists and arts/cultural educators. Survey respondents indicated a desire for over 50,000 square feet of space to meet the needs of these small organizations and individuals. One of the greatest desires was for space that facilitated collaboration and conversation among artists. This project as proposed would accomplish this among many other goals.

The existing industrial buildings make a great studio and teaching spaces—tough, raw surfaces, abundant natural light, large open volumes—an artist’s dream come true. It will add to Ann Arbor’s already outstanding reputation and as a cultural mecca.

Current plans offer two types of studio space:

• Short term rental for artists to offer lessons or complete a specific project. For example, a violin teacher who wants a room two afternoons a week or an artist who has a commission and doesn’t have workspace to stage the development of the commission.
• Studio Space

This is what the Art Center at 415 W. Washington can bring to this community.

By its very nature and location 415 W. Washington provides a rare opportunity to create a very special place in Ann Arbor. A true community art center that provides art experiences, teaching and learning about the arts and the environment. A project that imagines being a testimony as to how carefully considered design for site, building and program along with strong partnerships can create such a spot.

Do you like this idea?  Let us hear from you!

To find out more about our plans for the space at 415 Washington Street, click here:  415WashingtonRFP.