Mobile Studios For Artists? Yes, You Can Vote For That

Your opportunity to vote on projects involving schools, libraries, parks, streets, and other shared spaces throughout the neighborhood begins this Saturday. Between Saturday, March 26 – Sunday, April 3, you and your neighbors will be able to choose which projects will be funded.

To give a sense of the value of your involvement in Participatory Budgeting (PBNYC), we’re featuring details about one of your voting options: “Mobile Studios” for Artists and Organizations in Gowanus.

The project — titled “Mobile Studios” for Artists and Orgs in Gowanus — would consist of three studios. These are small, mobile workplaces for artists and community organizations that “will enliven underused areas and engage the public on local issues like displacement, environment and resiliency,” according to the PBNYC description.

Each studio costs $50,000. The project is for three studios, totaling $150,000.

“The mobile studios provide a space for artists, and in turn they work on projects to give back to the community,” says Jonathan Kuhr, the Volunteer Coordinator for the Arts, Culture, and Community Facilities Committee of PBNYC.

The studios have been created by ArtBuilt, a collaborative partnership between ArtBuilding and ArtHome, two non-profit organizations which work to support the creative sector by helping individual creative workers.

While the “mobile studios” would be new to the Gowanus neighborhood, the program finished a successful program on the grounds of the Queens Museum. “It was a group effort of the artists involved, the Queens Museum, and the Parks Department,” Kuhr explains.

In addition to artist, these nicely outfitted trailers will also be put to use by social services organizations. “The units can be used for organization when space is unattainable due to financial reasons,” says Kuhr.

“The idea of building one’s own home, and being able to move it, struck [Esther] Robinson [co-founder of ArtBuilt] as potentially very attractive to an artist living in what she calls a ‘real estate-contested’ city like New York,” writes Untapped Cities. “These small mobile studios would sidestep the expensive insurance and permitting required of artists working in commercial spaces, and their owners could actually keep any substantial investments made in them, rather than move from space to space.”

The need for artist space is particularly important in the midst of the recent evictions of artists from their studios throughout Gowanus. Last October, artists, advocates, and Council Member Brad Lander protested for the approximately 300 artists who have their studios in various buildings on 9th Street, 10th Street, and 2nd Avenue near the Gowanus Canal have been told that their leases will not be renewed. The issue continues in the area with new development becoming de rigueur.

“We chose this location directly out of the issue of displacement of artists in the Gowanus neighborhood,” says Kuhr.

The committee has consulted with local organizations, such as Arts Gowanus and the Gowanus Canal Conservancy.

While the sites have not yet been chosen, Kuhr explains that due to their mobile nature, there is an inherent resilience to the project. The studios can be moved into underutilized spaces and moved out in the case of a flood in the neighborhood — a relatively common occurrence.

“While this project is not going to solve mass displacement, it’s an opportunity to show how underutilized space can be put to work,” says Kuhr.

You can find out about voting areas and other information here. Voting begins tomorrow, March 26 and lasts through Sunday, April 3.

Keep in mind that any resident of the district age 14 and older – even if you are not a registered voter – can take part in the process. All you need is an ID, a utility bill, or some other document stating your name and address.