Artists need affordable places to create. That’s not unique to the small city of Northfield, Minnesota—but it is one that uniquely figured out how to partner with artists.
It all started a couple of years ago: Northfield city staff had some buildings in town that weren’t being used. They were interested in a partnership with the longstanding Northfield Arts Guild.
“This is a former office space. It’s been many things over the years,” the nonprofit’s director Michael Johnson says, gesturing to the space the guild has been renting now for over a year.
But “rent” is a loose term.
“We’re only being asked to cover utilities. So it’s (a) really, really affordable space, like 5 to 10% of what a typical studio costs in town,” Johnson says.
Each artist pays about $100 monthly per room, which artists can share and access 24/7.
That’s remarkable for local artists like Jenna Paulsen. She paints impressionist landscapes.
Paulsen used to work out of a bedroom studio in a house shared with her small children (and all the things they come with) before setting up at Water Street Studios.
“It’s just been a huge game changer,” Paulsen says.
“As rewarding and joyful as my art practice is, it’s also isolating at times. It’s just been such a wonderful gift . . . to get introduced into the arts scene in the community, meet some people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.”
Water Street Studios is 3,000 square feet of space for a dozen artists, a curated shop, events, and classrooms for the public.
Artists can rent by the room or simply a locker and a space to create, Johnson says.
The studios are fully booked month to month, from writers and art therapists to small nonprofits and visual artists.
Johnson calls the guild, and now the studio, “the gateway to downtown” with Northfield just on the river. The city has long been an advocate for the arts, he says, but this project has taken it further.
Beyond the Water Street Studios partnership, the city recently granted the guild $25,000 for community art engagement work.
“I’m really excited to be able to leverage this opportunity and show all the people in Northfield that the city really believes in us and believes in what the arts can do for economic development in our community,” Johnson says.
The 60-plus-year-old arts organization “is still growing and thriving and doing things in a different way,” he adds. And with this new, dedicated space accessible to artists, they’re proving it—with the city right beside them.