Arts Hub

Artists are visionaries and makers. Artists are essential to the restructuring of society because they have the capacity to imagine different ways of being that are beyond the limits of convention and reason alone. We need artists to make and share stories, dance, images, and music that [re]connects us to ancestral ways of being and knowing, and with our innate depths that connect us to possible futures. 

Definition

An Artist Hub is a centralized space for artists to come together to share resources, learn skills, serve community needs, and make art. A Hub empowers artists and the organizations that support them to cross-pollinate with one another in a creative and lively workspace.

Purpose & Vision

The Arts Hub is a multi-use space designed to meet the needs of artists in order to forge flourishing cultural practices in Eureka and beyond. Through the Arts Hub, the arts will reach new heights in Eureka’s Cultural Arts District. The organizations that support artists will also be able to achieve stability and establish stronger roots.

We will develop a cultural center in Downtown Eureka that includes artist housing, galleries, offices for arts organizations, art studios, makers’ spaces, performance and classroom spaces. Artists and culture bearers will be able to easily access systems that support them, opportunities to network with one another, and improved ability to earn a living wage. This project will address a multitude of needs expressed by local artists: affordable housing, makers’ spaces, dynamic galleries, organizational support, and access/visibility. 

Through this Hub, we will support artists’ visions for more sustainable, just, egalitarian, and creative societies, and these visions will have the support they need to be put into practice in Eureka and beyond. 

Sponsoring Organizations

At this time, the key organizations anchoring this project are Cooperation Humboldt and The Ink People. We are in ongoing discussions with several other local groups and look forward to adding their names and information when the time is appropriate.

Cooperation Humboldt’s mission is to build a solidarity economy on California’s North Coast. A solidarity economy empowers us to meet our needs in harmony with nature, without exploiting anyone, putting people and planet over profit by prioritizing collaboration over competition and cooperation over domination. Our projects cover a wide range of human needs including food, shelter, finance, care work, and arts/culture. Cooperation Humboldt is committed to transforming society in an ecological and regenerative manner - one that acknowledges the [his]story from which current structures are born. 

The Ink People changes lives by connecting the community with resources for cultural development. They encourage people to exercise their humanity, build civic discourse, and engage their creative potential. They are actively weaving the arts into the fabric of our communities. The Ink People is a community-based, grassroots, artist-run, arts and culture organization.They are organized on community access principles and the belief that art, in all its forms, is essential to the human spirit and well-being. They base their activities in a philosophy of sharing and community building. 

Funding

Through a collaborative process, the members of the Arts Hub, with support from The Ink People and Cooperation Humboldt staff and volunteers, will create a proposal and budget for developing their project.

Utilizing existing connections and resources, The Ink People and Cooperation Humboldt will work to secure capital from social impact investors and other funders, including the State Legislature. We will solicit grants, donations, and loans, and the proposal will need to include details about how the borrowed funds will be repaid. Some of the repayment will be through the artist-residents' and participating organizations’ contributions in the form of equity payments (which will take the place of rent). 

Participation

If you are an artist, a representative of an arts organization, or a potential gallery owner, and you would like to learn more about this project and possibly participate as one of our core developers, please complete this brief survey by February 29, 2020.