News and Events

Friday, July 18th
Open House / Gallery Stroll!!
6pm-9pm

Press
Our Snow White Costume in the Thursday, 01 November 2007 Daily Herald worn by Nicole, from Omniture (the Dwarves are from a talent agency in Las Vegas, NV.) Photo by Mario Ruiz.

"Combat tutus and the Art of the Corsetiere," Belle Armoire Magazine, Nov/Dec 2007: 56-59.

Salt Lake Magazine's "Best of 2007" July 2007

IN Utah this Week article "Club Clothes: A FIELD GUIDE TO CLUB FASHION"

Q Pages June 2006, article re: Dark Arts Festival

City Weekly article "Crash Corset." 11/17/05

Salt Lake Tribune multimedia feature "Birth of a Mascot." <http://extras.sltrib.com/NIP/robotech/index.htm>

Artspace Updates March 1, 2008

Artspace is officially no more. Allow me to provide some definition of terms. Throughout its 25 years at its original Pierpont Avenue location, the Salt Lake City based Artspace corporation posited itself as a humanitarian venture aimed at making artists' housing and workspaces affordable while simultaneously reviving a derelict downtown area.

Using massive rents it collected while acting as property manager for the original Pierpont property, which it leased for a mere pittance from the building's owner, Artspace began to buy and refurbish its own new properties while allowing the Pierpont Avenue location it managed to deteriorate. Their current properties include the Bridge Project, the California Tire and Rubber location, the former building that housed KRCL Public Radio, plus a new building project at 800 South and 500 West.

By comparison, none of these touted 'new' spaces are really affordable under the auspices of "affordable live/work spaces for artists," nor are they actually suitable workspaces for artists who need to work with materials having any scale, such as sculpture, metal work, ceramics and installations.

Although the original vision and goals of the Artspace project have now been squandered and exhausted, the organization's head operating officers have created secure, lifelong careers for themselves. As individuals, they possibly may retain a little bit of the idealism they had in their youth, but their priorities are apparent for all to see. And who can blame them?

As a dumb artist who has never really grown up, sold out or taken that tenure-track job, I would love to become a smart capitalist and I'd do exactly the same thing if a terrific venture like the original Artspace project ever presented itself to me. At present, I lack the capital and credit history to carry a master lease on a big place all by myself. I lack organizing skills, the knowledge of legal and real estate regulations, and a thousand other things. One could make a whole career out of researching these topics and teaching oneself to become a landlord, then a slumlord. Given proper motivation, you bet your ass I'd go down that path. I'm currently entertaining all serious and non-serious offers.

None of us tenants yet know what will become of us. The newest (third new one in six months) property management company has informed us that our rents have now gone up and that the owners wish to extend our leases a mere six months. Many, including yours truly, would like to sign long-term leases, and need to (in our case due to the majority of our performing arts clients being located downtown) but we're kept in limbo. We suspect that the building's owners are currently entertaining purchase offers and will sell the entire property if the price is right.

Now that the area has become increasingly gentrified and surrounded by huge successful ventures such as the Energy Solutions Arena (Delta Center) and the Gateway, we suspect offers will be in the multi-millions for just the land.

I thought enquiring minds might like to hear my two cents on this, so here you go. If you'd like to be a generous new patron who would be willing to adopt mcgrew studio / salt lake tightlacer, please contact me. We may soon be orphans looking for new digs and for new benefactors.

Otherwise, guess I'll see ya on the streets! Got any spare change?

Artspace Updates Dec. 07
The new sidewalk was finally finished in time for gallery stroll, December 7th. It probably cost a pittance compared to what our building will sell for. Some rumors have it that it's already been sold (to the developer directly south of us. hmmm.).

Artspace Updates (old ones)
Perhaps you've heard or seen for yourself by now that the front sidewalk at ArtSpace has been condemned. Yep, it's true- about a ten foot section of it collapsed DURING gallery stroll FIVE MONTHS AGO on July 20th.

It's been hard on everyone, particularly the people who got hurt, but also those of us who work and/or live there. Stay posted about whether ArtSpace or individual artists and galleries there will participate in Gallery Stroll this month. Don't count your chickens. Click here to read the Salt Lake Tribune's recent article about this. Mayoral candidate Ralph Becker said he wanted to expand Artspace, whatever that meant--click here to read about his platform then call me with your interpretation or inside info.

Just a few days ago (and today is October 11th), we got a generic looking and badly spellchecked memo notifying us that our building just got handed over to another management company, something called "Evergreene Property Management," whom we've never met and have only a mailing address for. I suspect our awesome former property manager, Annie, quit in total disgust with the whole situation. I'll bet you a nickel she was tired of being a foil between rich, noncommunicative building owners and angsty tenants. Who can blame her?

As tenants, we no longer have access to an onsite property management office and as of this date (Oct 11th,) the rent check I sent in on the first (to the former, onsite property management office address) has somehow "disappeared" in the mail. Figures. This really pisses me off, and if I find I need to stop payment on that check, do you think I can have the property management company cover the cost? Nope, of course not.

Rumors have flown around for months now. One tenant told me he was told by our maintenance guythat the property management got two bids so the dock could be fixed: one for $20,000 and one for $100,000. Guess which contractor we were told they'd be hiring? Now they're not doing jack shit. FOUR MONTHS!

If we weren't all poor, starving and disorganized artists, I'm sure we'd find the gumption to get ourselves together, find ourselves a pit bull of a lawyer and git ourselves a dang ol' class action lawsuit going to gently persuade the building owners to tell us what the hell is going on with the dock repair as well as the future of the property.

We heard a rumor a couple of months ago that the engineers have already ordered materials to do some retrofitting, but it could realistically be months before any progress is made. You know how these things go. Artspace has told all its tenants that they (and their guests) must not use the front sidewalk/dock, and that anyone who does from now on and gets hurt, releases Artspace from any liability. I have heard from a few tenants that they ARE planning to be open for gallery stroll.

Regardless if ArtSpace is still broken or not, get yourself out and about! There are many gallery stroll locations open on the third Friday every month, and you should go enjoy them. And for christsakes, don't just gawk and try to look cool, get your wallet open and buy some local art!

To find all the open galleries and chart your course around town, try these links:
downtownslc.org
gallerystroll.org

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