ArtsHub, a coworking space at Intermedia Arts that’s geared to creative types, has become a “full and thriving space” since it started last fall.
Maggie McKenna, who hosts ArtsHub, says that between its brightly-colored mezzanine, gallery meeting spaces, weekly table tennis matches, and a newly furnished ArtsHub West in the adjacent building, “The facility has been inspiring,” resulting in unlikely collaborations.
It has achieved near capacity with a diverse group of artists, community organizers, nonprofit organizations, and businesses that are permanent members.
“Every day I come in and strike up a conversation with someone and it seems like a new project lands on my desk, or I’m helping solve a problem, or I just get to hear about a lot of different things happening,” she says.
The place is filled with “the kind of creative people who are willing to talk to strangers and share ideas.”
That has led to new developments at ArtsHub, including an urban farm, with vegetables and herbs, on its grounds.
It serves as a demonstration garden for the
Permaculture Research Institute Cold Climate, one of the ArtsHub members. The garden is also accessible to coworkers, she says.
Volunteers helped to “construct a growing space out of nothing,” this spring, along with picnic areas, she says. “We worked this summer to create outdoor spaces as well as indoor spaces.”
The greenery helps to soften the boxy concrete building. “It’s exciting to watch that grow,” she says.
Separately, this fall ArtsHub is launching several new programs, including workshops for artists and creative entrepreneurs, free health clinics, and more.
That’s part of the benefit of this type of environment. “There are a lot of ways the community members can learn from each other,” she says, adding, “I can’t imagine being in a traditional office space again.”
Source: Maggie McKenna, ArtsHub at Intermedia Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt