Artist Live Work Space
What is an artist community or collective?
An artist collective, otherwise known as an Artist Commune or Artist Community, is a group of artists working together, usually under their own management, toward shared aims.
An artist commune may share resources in the following ways:
• Share tools and collaborate on projects
• Share a living space and/or work space
• Rent or purchase a building with a large space for a gallery and/or event hosting
An artist-run space is a facility operated or directed by artists, circumventing the restricted access to museums and galleries. Artist collectives could benefit other artists by offering rental of their artist-run space.
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Steps to create an artist collective with live/work space
- Invite artists associates to create a profile on ICmatch.org to assess which of them might find in each other a good fit for a shared living space, work space, and or business partnership.
- After one or more groups form, that you are part of, plan and complete a joint project to assess the group’s capacity to work together and to utilize the decision-making framework you’ve agreed on.
- Plan for the physical locations of the collective—living space, workspace, and gallery space—to be close to each other. Some artist collectives have turned warehouses into affordable studio space or even display space. Similarly, artist-dedicated apartments can sit above ground level art shops that host gallery walks.
- Create a business plan that clarifies each member’s contribution and expectations for how and when they can use the shared spaces.
- Write grant proposals for purchase or rental of the needed spaces. To be eligible for more grants, you might team up with a university and non-profits that focus on the arts.
Examples of Artist Communes
These artist collectives include living quarters:
- ARC Live Work Studios, Vancouver BC
- Beaver Hall Artists’ Housing Coop
- Lakeshore Village Artists’ Coop, Toronto, Canada
- Core Artists Live Work Cooperative, Vancouver, Canada
- Meduse (Quebec)
- The Artist Building, Boston MA
- Brew House Association, Pittsburgh PA
- Big Car Collaborative, Indianapolis IN
- Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative, Chicago IL
- Los Angeles Artist Co-op
- Lowertown Lofts Artist Cooperative, Saint Paul MN
- Untitled Cooperative Residence for Artists, Sedona AZ
- Uranian Phalanstery, New York City
- Westbeth, New York City
- Other examples
Commune Consultants for Artist Communes
ICmatch can connect you with consultants who have deep experience in projects and living environments that thrive on close, sustained cooperation. These professionals are experts at guiding others through the unique opportunities and challenges of communal living.
The consultants listed below have subscribed to be featured on this page. For even more consultants with interest and expertise in this type of community, visit the consultants page linked in the header.
Members Interested in Artist Communes
ICmatch can connect you with communitarians who have similar interests and values. The members listed below have subscribed to be featured on this page. For even more members with interest in this type of community, visit the Match for Free page linked in the header.
EarthMother
Younger boomer
Female
Victoria BC
Skid
Millennial
Female + male + dependent(s)
Oklahoma
FarmingArtists
Gen X
Female + male + dependent(s)
Spanish Fork, UT
PineTreeDisco
Millennial
Non-binary pair
New Haven, Connecticut
aSparkOfDivinity
Gen Z
Non-binary
Orange County, CA
FoodForestHeaven
Gen X
Male
Mexico
HappyDancer
Mixed ages
Female
Denver CO
Resources for an Artist Community
To empower creatives, particularly within artist collectives, it’s essential to address the common gap in business management and marketing expertise. The most effective solution often involves teaming up with individuals skilled in these areas, whether through outsourced services or by bringing on a dedicated team member. Our platform, ICmatch, can facilitate these connections, and further resources like Fiverr and Upwork are excellent for identifying qualified talent. For broader industry networking, consider exploring commercial art networks such as artspace.org.
National Endowment for the Arts: Nonprofit artist communities with 5 years of art programming may apply, or new communities might find a art nonprofit with 5 years, which wants to collaborate on artist live/work space. Grant applicants must have non-profit or government entity status themselves, not a non-profit fiscal sponsor.