Pillar Arts may purchase the Herald-Times building from the Monroe County Community School Corporation.
The Bloomington non-profit is interested in turning the space into an Integrated Arts Creative Hub. The facility would include a cafe, workspaces and multipurpose resource rooms, each outfitted for diverse types of art, according to Pillar Arts Executive Director Charles Pearce.
“It can't just be a performance venue for live events and theater, it can't just be a kitchen and catering environment and test space for culinary arts, it can't just be a gallery by itself or studio space by itself or a workshop for woodworking or for ceramicists,” Pearce said. “It needs to be a little bit of all of it.”
Pearce said the goal is to create a flexible, collaborative environment that brings artists from different disciplines together in one space.
Pillar Arts has applied for a $4 million Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative grant from the state to fund the project. Recipients will be notified July 1.
The project depends on both the grant outcome and discussions with MCCSC. Pearce said the organization wants to expand regardless of the grant decision, though the timeline and location could change.
He said the 52,000-square-foot area of the Herald-Times building makes it attractive.
“A large creative facility like this allows Bloomington to become more of a hub itself for our regional and rural partners,” Pearce said.
Pearce said the project would complement the city’s existing arts organizations rather than compete with them. He said that a thriving creative community needs multiple venues and resources available to artists.
“If your community is only willing to create one of these things, it's not enough for the artist,” Pearce said. “It's a monopoly.”
If the project moves forward, Pillar Arts plans to keep rental and membership costs below market rates for artists. Pearce said pricing would be based on operating costs.
“If we are going to be supporting artists who are emerging and establishing themselves as professionals, we need to maintain below-market resources so those artists can thrive,” Pearce said.
He said the proposal has received 38 letters of community support from local organizations, groups at Indiana University and the mayor’s office.
“This is a great opportunity to quite literally be a pillar to the arts in our community,” Communications Manager Emily Waldo said.
Pillar Arts currently operates the By Hand Gallery and the Arts Alliance Center at College Mall.
If the grant is not awarded, Pearce said the organization will explore other opportunities to develop a third facility and expand resources for artists.
“Whether we receive this grant or not, our desire to support artists in more comprehensive ways is still there,” Pearce said. “Whether we win or lose, I think artists in the community are going to win.”
