Like many artists, Fokine had been priced or developed out of other neighborhoods, but she has found a happy home here. The issue of artists being displaced by development has been hard to avoid in the local press lately. The focus has almost exclusively been on the anguish and separation anxiety of artists cast out of spaces they had resurrected in once-neglected neighborhoods; the discussion has yet to move into how and where artists are finding new spaces.
That discussion could start with the marriage and business partnership between an artist and a real estate developer that resulted in a "house of noise and activity" concept, one that has been replicated and proved ideal for many Seattle artists. Jude Siddall, a former professional dancer, and husband Gary Romain, a developer, came up with the concept for what became a "new commercial product" when they built the first ActivSpace building in Ballard in 1994.
"We couldn't get bank financing or find an architect to design the building for us, so we had to do it ourselves," says Siddall. The business community might not have been convinced of the idea's solvency, but potential tenants were -- and the spaces, which range from $100 to $750 per month, were pre-leased before construction was complete. According to Siddall, "the banks are on board now."
"We wanted to create a safe haven where artists don't have to suffer for their art," Siddall told me. The spaces in the three ActivSpace buildings now open -- two in Ballard and one in Portland, with a new structure in Lake City that will open this summer -- are lean, with unpainted walls and bare wood floors, but have high ceilings, oversized windows, electrical service, utility sinks, and heat, an amenity many artists have reported going without in other spaces. Siddall and Romain, whose company ActivSpace LLC now employs 11 people and rents to 500 artists and small businesses, may expand the ActivSpace concept to other West Coast locations.
Siddall acknowledges that artists may likely be forced out of downtown properties, but feels alternatives should be available: "Places like the Shoe Building only represent a short-term use. But we can't send artists out of town. They are part of the community."
Luis Sanchez, like many artists now in ActivSpace, had moved around a lot. "I had a studio in Pioneer Square when development took off in 1997. Nobody wanted to move out even when rents started going up, but we were finally forced out when they put in $300,000 condos." Sanchez had a similar experience on Market Street in Ballard, where a first-floor gallery had subdivided second-floor space to accommodate five artist studios. "We were abruptly asked to leave when the gallery didn't renew the lease. Three out of the five artists there moved to ActivSpace."
Painter and sculptor Fokine tells a similar tale. "My studio in Greenwood increased from $450 to $1,000 in three years. Then we lost our lease. The owner was looking to get $2,400 per month by leasing to chain retail stores."
Sanchez has found his new studio conducive to producing his paintings and to making connections with other artists. "Having so many artists working in the building creates a great energy. There is also a cross-pollination between artists in different media."
To foster an increased sense of community and to share that artistic energy with others, Sanchez joined with Fokine and figurative artist Carole d' Inverno to create an open-studio tour, taking place this weekend. The event has drawn the participation of nearly 40 artists, many of whom will preview works to be shown in upcoming gallery shows.
Although ActivSpace is home primarily to fine artists, a mixture of creative and entrepreneurial types use the building, including printmakers, musicians, sculptors, glass blowers, and printers, along with small businesses. Entering the space of floral designer Charles Coghlan of Hana Designs offers a sharp contrast with the paint-splattered and turpentine-scented spaces of many of his neighbors. A fountain runs in the corner and the air is floral-scented; Coghlan works in the Japanese floral arrangement style of ikebana.
"This space allows low overhead, which is important since we are competing with big businesses. It's also refreshing and stimulating to be surrounded by other creative people," Coghlan said.
Another unusual business in the ActivSpace building is Oops Restoration, whose proprietor Raissa Mazurkevich plies the "lost art" of invisible repairs for damaged porcelain sculptures and collectibles. She had operated the business from her home for almost eight years. "It is nice to get out of the house, and this space is ideal. It is a powerful feeling being here, there's an energy to the place. You don't have to sneak in as artists must do in other spaces not designed for them." The spacious studio allowed Mazurkevich to construct a dust-free enclosure necessary for her work.
Although the ActivSpace buildings provide reasonably priced and stable locales for artists, they do not permit artists to live where they work, a common need for emerging artists. According to Bart Becker, Communications Director for Seattle's Office of Housing, "There are reasons for optimism. The city believes the arts are valuable and that artists do have unique needs." Becker's department was the catalyst for three projects providing live/work spaces for artists. The first project provides a dozen studios for artists who meet low-income criteria, while a second will add 20 more live/work spaces. Both are located in the Pioneer Square area.
A more ambitious project to be opened on Rainier and Dearborn in 2002 will house 130 artists and provide street-level offices for arts organizations. The city works with developers who have identified properties for renovation by combining city, state, and federal funding with resources from developers, banks, and non-profit groups. Becker concedes that the city would like to do more, but "there are more valid proposals than there are funds for, and the city places a higher priority on more vulnerable low-income groups such as families with children, homeless women, and the elderly."
The arts community is susceptible to a type of real-estate Darwinism, and part of the vocation of creative persons may be to not only create art but also figure out how to find sustenance in a changing society. Seattle may sell out to developers and techno-plantations, but reports of the demise of the arts community are premature. Their path may be challenging, but the evidence suggests that artists will find a way to keep living and creating in the machine that is Seattle.
