Upcoming: Public Meeting with Non-Profit Arts Developer Artspace, City of Austin, Austin Playhouse, June 7

Received directly:

Austin Playhouse & City of Austin Cultural Arts Division
Host A Public Meeting with Artspace

Monday, June 7, 7:30 p.m.
Austin Playhouse at Penn Field, 3601 S. Congress, Bldg. C
Information: 512- 476-0084; austinplayhouse@aol.com; www.austinplayhouse.com

On Monday, June 7 and Tuesday, June 8 Austin Playhouse, in conjunction with the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division, will host a visit from the nation’s premier nonprofit real estate developer, Artspace. The purpose of the visit is to determine the feasibility of partnering with Austin Playhouse to build affordable live/work, studio, and gallery spaces for Austin artists in a sustainable arts development.

Austin Playhouse and the Cultural Arts Division will host a public meeting as part of the City’s Take it to the Next Level workshop series. We welcome artists of all disciplines, interested community members and members of the press to join us Monday, June 7, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. at Austin Playhouse to introduce Artspace to Austin and to hear about their successful project models, how they work, and the economic and social impact on a community; as well as give Artspace insights into Austin’s interest in having a project developed here.

Artspace is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to creating affordable space for the arts. Austin Playhouse is a professional nonprofit theatre currently operating year-round in a two-venue performance space located in Penn Field. Austin Playhouse plans to build a permanent home for their theatre after their lease expires at Penn Field in April 2011. In the proposed plan, Austin Playhouse would build, maintain, and run a new two-venue performance space with expanded support facilities. Artspace would build and manage the artist loft spaces above the Playhouse. The lofts would include a resident gallery and central rooftop courtyard/sculpture garden.

The purpose of Artspace’s visit is to help Austin Playhouse and the City of Austin understand the potential to create a successful, affordable, self-sustaining arts development project and to understand the key elements that determine feasibility (project concept, site selection, market need, funding and sustainability, local leadership, sustained community impact) as they relate to the project.

Artspace has built similar projects in several cities including three in Texas: El Paso, Galveston, and Houston. During their visit to Austin they will meet with a core group of Austin Playhouse and other arts representatives and public officials, conduct a public meeting, tour potential sites, gather information and in six weeks, issue a report. This feasibility study is the first step toward their possible involvement in a joint project with Austin Playhouse.