09/09/2026
In the past 2 months I've had a lot of conversations about spaces. Spaces that already exist but are sterile, white, and don't allow too much "mess" without extra rental fees. Spaces that rent with strict rules and can't be "messy spaces" because their revenue model relies in artist rental fees. You can't get too messy in a place that isn't yours. That's just the way it is.
The new building will not just be a place we rent for the next 18 months. But a place we aim to OWN one day. And once that's the case - we can adapt the space for "messes". I always get a kick out of how much I'm hearing "messy spaces" in the art world and in the ether around Stevens Point.
I keep wondering what they picture....🤔 Because the free community art studio will be for adults only. And you'll have to act like an adult in it and clean up after yourself, but the difference?... A freedom to experiment with materials, to spread out.
I feel there's an undertone when talking to non-creative people that a creative's mind is "messy". Which...8/10 - yes! As a creative, you're more likely to struggle with depression, anxiety, feel deeper, react harder, and just in general not be able to "fall in line" with a world that wants a sterile white room to stay that way.
That's why we need spaces that are the opposite. People ARE messy. If you're a city changemaker, grantor, or skeptic; we're not talking about just paint splatters. We're taking about a place that feels freeing when you enter. That's not performative when it says its for local artists. The physical act of making is not linear sometimes. The act of using your hands and producing something makes messes. You clean them up. But the flexibility to be a place that is "messy" is important to what we're building for this community.
