Online Survey Launched to Determine Space Needs for Area Artists, Arts Organizations and Creative Businesses

The City of Richmond is partnering with CultureWorks, the Cameron Foundation and City of Petersburg to conduct a major online survey of artists, individuals involved with arts organizations and creative businesses in the region to determine the feasibility of creating one or more multi-use arts facilities. The survey will conclude on September 5, 2014.

This effort represents a collaboration of multiple partners, including The Cameron Foundation, Artspace Projects, CultureWorks, and the cities of Richmond and Petersburg. Artspace Projects, the nation’s leading developer for the arts, will use the survey to identify the types and number of spaces needed by those who are part of the area’s creative economy. The results of the survey will help Artspace Projects determine the size of the market in Richmond and Petersburg region for affordable live/work housing, studio and public space of various kinds.

The survey is the second phase of a scope of work that began last year when an Artspace Projects team conducted preliminary feasibility visits in Richmond and Petersburg. If the survey identifies a market for one or more Artspace Projects developments and the community decides to proceed, survey results will inform both the project concept and site selection as well as provide data on affordability. The survey results will also impact specific design and programmatic decisions, such as square footage, parking spaces, types of shared creative spaces to include, rent levels, etc. Artists who take the survey will have the option of being among the first to be informed of project developments, including leasing opportunities.

Additional information about the survey is available at www.creativespacesurvey.org, where interested artists, arts organizations and creative businesses are encouraged to take the survey.

“This project has something to offer residents who are involved with a creative pursuit or organization as it is a unique tool that can help the City revitalize and inject positive energy into some of our most underinvested neighborhoods,” said Lee Downey, director of the City of Richmond’s Department of Economic and Community Development. “Growing the creative economy will not only help grow the overall local economy, but also make it more diverse and more resilient to economic downturns.”