The Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County to launch online survey October 17 to determine space needs for area artists, arts organizations, and creative businesses
(Sarasota, FL) The Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County in partnership with Artspace today announced that it will conduct a major online survey of artists, arts organizations, and creative businesses in the Sarasota and Manatee areas to determine the size and nature of the market for an Artspace mixed-use project in that community. The eight-week survey will be launched with a free public event from 5:30 – 7 p.m. on October 18 at Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota FL 34236. The event is open to all; artists and directors of arts organizations and creative businesses are especially encouraged to attend.
Artspace, the nation’s leading developer of live/work spaces for the arts, will use the survey to identify the types and number of spaces needed by Sarasota and Manatee artists, the amenities and special features that are of interest to them. The results of the survey will help Artspace determine the size of the market in Sarasota for affordable live/work housing, studio and work space of various kinds.
The survey is the second phase of a scope of work that began in 2014 when an Artspace team conducted a Preliminary Feasibility Visit in Sarasota. If the survey identifies a market for an Artspace project and the community decides to proceed, survey results will inform both the project concept and site selection. They will also impact specific design and programmatic decisions, such as square footage, parking spaces, types of shared creative spaces to include rents, etc. Artists who take the survey will have the option of being among the first to be informed of project developments, including leasing opportunities.
Additional information about the survey is available at https://sarasotaarts.org/artspacesrq/.
“We encourage all artists and arts organizations to take this survey whether or not they think they might want to live there,” said Jim Shirley, Executive Director of the Arts and Cultural Alliance. “This factual data will help us serve our arts community better no matter what the outcome may be.”
About Artspace
Artspace has been hailed by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation and others as an inspiration for the emergent creative placemaking movement. For more than 30 years, Artspace has brought its hard-earned expertise to more than 200 cultural facility planning efforts from coast to coast. Of these projects, 32 have been developed and are owned and operated by Artspace itself, representing a unique, $500 million investment in America’s arts infrastructure. With headquarters in Minneapolis and offices in Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Seattle and Washington D.C., Artspace is America’s leading developer of arts facilities. To date we have completed more than a thousand affordable live/work units for artists and their families as well as more than a million square feet of non-residential space for artists and arts organizations. Additional information is available at www.artspace.org.
About The Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County
The Arts and Cultural Alliance is a member-powered organization that serves as an advocate for arts and culture in Sarasota County. Founded in 1986 by a group of committed citizens, the Alliance has administered more than $20 million in grants to area artists and arts organizations. The Alliance works to ensure arts and cultural remain essential to the continuing development of a vibrant, creative community. This is achieved through arts advocacy, education and community outreach. For more information about how you can join the Arts and Cultural Alliance, please visit our website at www.SarasotaArts.org or call (941) 365-5118, extension 313.
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