Artists push for housing project

Sarasota leaders often tout the area’s reputation as a cultural and artistic hub, but artists say there’s at least one major regional shortcoming: a lack of viable places for artists to live and work.

That’s why some local artists are excited about an ongoing relationship between the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County and Artspace, a nonprofit that builds nonprofit live-work projects aimed at artists. With less than two weeks left in a survey designed to gauge the market demand for such a project, artists who have taken the survey are encouraging others to participate.

So far, more than 300 people have participated. Veronica Morgan, the artist who first campaigned to bring an Artspace project to Sarasota, wants to set a record for survey responses to wow the company. Arts Alliance Executive Director Jim Shirley said the number of submissions is an important factor.

"Everything we can do over the next two weeks to make other artists aware of this is really important for us to do," Shirley said.

A conversation with more than a dozen Sarasota creatives showed demand for affordable housing. Sculptor and installation artist Joanne McCobb moved here in 2012 and says reaching a place of stability remains a challenge.

“I need living space,” McCobb said. “I cannot afford the house I’m living in right now. Every year is a struggle, financially.”

Her story wasn’t unique. It’s hard to find consistent work. It’s harder to find a reasonably priced home on an artist’s salary. And for performing artists or visual artists working with large-scale mediums, it’s hard to find a place to comfortably hone your craft.

“We’re desperate to have not only good performing spaces, but rehearsal spaces — places where we can interact,” said Elizabeth Bergmann, a dancer and choreographer.

Terry “T-Bone” Rhodes, a musician and filmmaker, thinks Sarasota’s robust philanthropic community could be mobilized to support such an effort. Right now, though, he doesn’t think the broader community is aware that artists are struggling to find spaces to live and work, and the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

“I think if we squeak a little bit louder, the people will listen,” Rhodes said.

Brendan Ragan, artistic director of the Urbanite Theater, agreed that raising awareness is key. He’s happy there are so many enthusiastic patrons of the arts here, but he hopes more can be done to attend to the needs of the creative community — particularly because the arts are a foundational part of the area’s image.

“You would dredge your beaches if they were eroding away,” Ragan said. “You would clean them up if they were being littered. And you should take care of your artists, who are providing the most crucial aspect of this city’s identity.”

Artists say there would be more benefits to a community specifically tailored to artists. Artspace units would be available to artists of all disciplines, but even across mediums, artists say there are benefits to living and working alongside like-minded people. The opportunity for increased collaboration, in particular, was a source of an excitement.

“There’s a lot of great stuff going on, and it’s going on in silos,” Rhodes said. “There are a lot of people doing really great stuff, but they’re not connecting.”

Artists offered suggestions for amenities they’d like to see incorporated into a potential Artspace project. Their wishes included performance space and access to communal equipment and studios, in disciplines ranging from photography to music to ceramics to woodwork. That underscored the diverse needs of Sarasota’s artistic community, and the challenge of addressing all of them in one project.

They’re realistic.. They know one project, if it even comes to fruition, can’t possibly satisfy everyone’s desires. But they’re hopeful it could be the start of something even bigger, of a transition toward a community that better serves its artists, that’s more livable for those pursuing a career in a creative field.

That’s not to say Sarasota is a bad place for artists to live today. They just believe it could be even better, and that Artspace represents a path toward that future.

“We’re all here for a reason,” Ragan said. “But we could use some help, too.”