The Benefit of Sharing

An excerpt from research into the benefits of shared spaces by community, arts and others...

TROY, Mich. – When the Michigan Nonprofit Association, Michigan Association of United Ways and the Food Bank Council of Michigan move into new quarters in the state capital this fall (2011), they will be part of a growing trend: nonprofits co-locating under one roof. The nonprofits’ headquarters in Lansing, Mich., will be among more than 250 such centers in the United States and Canada.

Co-location centers come in all shapes and sizes. Some provide support such as bookkeeping, information technology and print and mail services in addition to office space. Brotsky cites a few examples:

• Arts Court in Ontario is a historic landmark building owned by the local municipality. A hub for Ottawa artists and audiences, Arts Court is home to a consortium of 26 arts and cultural organizations that save thousands of dollars a month in rent by sharing office and rehearsal space.
   
• The Alliance Center in Denver is home to 27 nonprofits. Half of those tenants work in the environmental field. The center and its tenants have helped pass more than 100 pieces of sustainability-related state legislation in just two years.
   
• Children & Family Services Center in Charlotte, N.C., is a nonprofit center with 11 organizations co-located to better serve the children and families. In addition to coordinating services, the center has expanded into shared back-office services including information technology, human resources and finance staff.

Zen Habits

For the past couple of years I have subscribed to Zen Habits, a blog written by Leo Babauta and some of his mates. It's like all blogs, some days are more relevant than others. But today's is worth sharing I think...

Investing in Tasmanias creative community

Check out Another Tasmanian Art Fan - it's a mechanism for supporting our artists, writers, musicians and creative communities. A series of products are being developed that promote the broader Tasmanian Art Culture, but also help to provide support to individual artists and performers who may not have the finances to access the most basic of services. As such, money raised from the sale of the upcoming products will go directly to subsidising work in promotion, marketing, coaching and development.

If you have an idea for a product, would like to contribute a design or would like to invest in this social enterprise program please drop us a line.

Falls Festival-call for volunteers

Falls Music & Arts Festival in need of hard working folks to volunteer. Must be 18+ and available from Dec 28-Jan 1. To apply go to www.fallsfestival.com or email fallstas@ashlorien.com Applications close August 26

A room of one's own

Inspired by reading Virginia Woolf's inspiring essay, A Room of One's Own, I have been thinking a great deal about the artists' need for space, time and money. Many of the artists I work with are not aiming to make millions but want to be able to keep producing, improve their practice and get their work out of the studio.
So what does it take to do this? I remember when I was an art student. Single, living in tiny bedsits and share houses with my easel sharing space with my bed. My tea often tasted like oil paints and my clothes were inadvertently decorated with traces of magenta, cobalt blue and mostly zinc white. At my most prolific times I was studying full time at art school while juggling part time work. Often this was two jobs- waitressing was the usual and I remember a particular busy time when I was also cleaning houses.