Policy Proposal: Affordable Live/Work Housing for Artists

Artists bring vitality to a community. Their creative work infuses energy and culture into a community’s day-to-day happenings. Through their art form, artists connect people with enriching experiences. Unfortunately, all too often, artists do not earn fair financial compensation for their extraordinary artistic efforts. Many artists struggle to provide for themselves and their families. This is true in cities across the nation, including Cincinnati. Research from The Arts Ripple Effect tells us that people across the Cincinnati region believe that the arts create economic vibrancy in the area and bring people of a community together. Without the artists to provide these opportunities, we have no art.

What can Cincinnati do to support, retain, and attract artists?

My proposal: create affordable live/work housing for local artists. The project would involve renovating an abandoned or rundown building, designing spaces to accommodate an artist’s life and work, and overseeing the management of the building and tenants. The housing should be located downtown or in Over the Rhine as these areas host numerous arts and cultural organizations, giving the artists convenient access to the arts scene. Artists would be chosen to live in the housing based on household income and their contribution to the arts community.

In her study of artist housing policies in U.S. cities, Elizabeth Strom found that cities throughout the country are using artist housing policy to revitalize their neighborhoods. Other motivating factors for setting such policy include meeting the housing needs of local artists and attracting artists to the city. These cities—which range from Las Vegas to Wichita to Minneapolis—are investing in the cultural capital of their community because artists add unique value to a city. Strom writes,

“City officials gamble that these small investments will have clear ripple effects: that a few dozen artists will make these spaces less marginal and that several years or decades later, their investment in artist housing will have paid off in new, private investment in the surroundings” (375).

The coordination and financing of these housing projects usually involves many stakeholders, committees, and funding streams. Cincinnati would need to create a policy network that includes representatives from arts organizations and members of the following city divisions: the City Council, City Planning and Buildings, Community Development, Economic Development, and the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority. The city council needs to first convene these people to begin discussions and planning. At the appropriate time, the council needs to officially approve the proposal and designate city spending for the project. Generally, for projects like these, funding comes from a mix of federal, state, city, foundation, and private money.

The city could also enlist the help of Artspace, a nonprofit that has been developing live/work and commercial and studio spaces for artists since 1979. Currently, Artspace is in the preliminary stages of developing 36 units of affordable artist housing near the Central Business District of neighboring Hamilton, OH (pictures below). Through the collaboration, Artspace conducted a Artist Market Study, created to reach 7,500 artists within a 50-mile radius of Hamilton. The survey supported the need for affordable live/work space for artists and their families. As Cincinnati does fall within the 50-mile radius of Hamilton, we can postulate that a similar need may exist in Cincinnati. A partnership with Artspace would allow the project to apply for Low Income Housing Tax Credit to cut costs. The organization’s ntation of this project. Based on the costs of past Artspace projects, I would estimate that the creation of artist housing in Cincinnati would cost between $10 and $15 million.

This project would benefit not only artists but also the community at large. It will help retain and attract artists, which can help revitalize a community’s vibrancy and economy. As a city with a high-quality and diverse arts scene, Cincinnati should take this step to support its cultural capital and provide it the opportunity to grow.