Strategic Focus : Cultural Stewardship : Creative Center for the Arts

The Creative Center for the Arts (CCA) builds on the space needs of at least 15 arts organizations and creates a place for sharing production space, staffing and back office functions. It provides shared purchasing and back office services for the entire arts and culture ecosystem of the Valley to reduce overhead, foster sustainability, build collaborations and seed development of intercultural and multidisciplinary offerings.  

          

Creative Center for the Arts Goals

  • Drive down the cost of doing business for participating arts organizations – both resident arts companies and other groups accessing particular services and space rental needs by providing shared spaces, staffing, back-office consolidations and technology solutions to participating groups and creative enterprises
  • Revitalize a downtown neighborhood and strongly link the creative arts to our emerging downtown urban, innovation-driven economy
  • Create a new, self-sustaining model for supporting the arts through earned revenue streams (space rental, business support services) that can be used for on-going facility-related maintenance/ management/ development that will be managed by a Creative Center for the Arts 501c3
  • Become the focal point for an entrepreneurial-minded nonprofit arts community throughout the region
  • Facilitate collaborative partnerships, cross-cultural creativity and community arts education programming

 

Progress to Date: Through extensive discussions and letters of intent with local arts organizations, 1stACT has identified 16 partners to participate in the CCA project as resident organizations. Five organizations will serve as anchor tenants. Additional organizations and artists will be able to participate through available services such as rehearsal and studio space rental. 1stACT has identified two possible sites for the CCA. Our preferred site is in Martha Gardens on the southern edge our downtown SoFA Arts District. The secondary site is in Japantown, on the northern edge of the urban core. Both areas are already home to several arts groups operating in a mix of old cannery and warehouse buildings.  Site plans for the privately owned Martha Gardens site and the city-owned Japantown site are available upon request. 

If you have any questions or would like more information, please direct your inquiry to Brendan Rawson, Director of Cultural Participation at brawson@1stact.org