Artspace Projects

History

Established in 1979.

Finding and retaining affordable live/​work space is an age-​old problem for artists, painters, sculptors, dancers, and others who require an abundance of well-​lit space in which to work. Many artists gravitate to old warehouses and other industrial buildings, but their very presence in an industrial neighborhood often acts as a catalyst, setting in motion a process of gentrification that drives rents up and forces the artists out. This is precisely what happened in Minneapolis’ historic Warehouse District in the 1970s and led to the creation of Artspace in 1979. Established to serve as an advocate for artists’ space needs, Artspace effectively fulfilled that mission for nearly a decade. By the mid-​1980s, however, it was clear that the problem required a more proactive approach, and Artspace made the leap from advocate to developer. Since then, the scope of Artspace’s activities has grown dramatically. Artspace is now America’s leading nonprofit real estate developer for the arts.