art is better than television
about us: what is Spacetaker?
Spacetaker, a non-profit Artist Resource Center in Houston's Sixth Ward, provides young, emerging and mid-career artists with resources and tools that help them advance and manage their professional careers. Through our Artist Resource Center (2101 Winter Street) and via our websites, we afford artists access to practical, professional services, including bi-weekly newsletters, low cost/high value PR and marketing, digital photography services, current technology, online portfolio space, and other career-building resources. We also create social networking opportunities for Houston artists and the greater Houston community through our monthly Artist Saloons, our annual gala, and our quarterly special events. Our online business resources are accessible on computers and mobile devices, giving artists unprecedented access to the business side of making art.
As an organization, Spacetaker has achieved much since its inception in 2001, including building and maintaining Spacetaker.org (the website where we publish the Houston Culture Guide, the Artist Registry, the Image Archive, and reviews and features about local arts events and artists). In addition, Spacetaker has initiated several media partnerships that allow us to feature our artists in print and video publications, reaching over 500,000 Houstonians per month. 002, Arts Houston, Free Press, LionEye TV, and Freeway Films are a few of our media partners. Through these avenues, Spacetaker has been effectively advocating the plethora of culture our city has to offer its residents and visitors. Spacetaker is also a proud member of Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Houston Partnership.
With so many makers in our midst, we at Spacetaker are dedicated to creating vehicles for artists to talk with each other, to attain timely, pertinent information, and also to communicate with the wider audience that is comprised of the millions who call the Greater Houston area "home." Developing forums for different groups of people to come together and interact with each other provides an invaluable opportunity for individuals to make connections, develop friendships, and formulate a collective awareness that fosters a sense of pride and ownership within the community.
core services:
The Culture Guide
The Houston Culture Guide is the place to visit to find a curated listing of the menagerie of art offerings on any given day of the year. From classes on the business end of art to puppet shows and poetry readings, you can find it on the Guide. As an added bonus for artists, businesses and organizations, event listings include links to those involved in the production and sponsorship of the event. This not only helps in the PR/Marketing of those involved but also fosters connections between the artist and those who support the arts. An integral part of the Guide is an image archive of artists' work and events, which functions as a beautiful way to broadcast the diversity of artistic expression that takes place every day in Houston. The Guide averages 700 unique visitors (15,000 hits) a day, publishing over 3,000 pages of art content.
The Artist Registry
The place to take space as an artist or to find an artist working in a certain media is the Artist Registry. With over 600 artists registered on the site (from chefs to painters to poets to jewelers to tattooists), the registry is a trove of information for both the artist and art aficionado. The registry affords artists space on the web where they can place their bios or artist statements as well as an image of their work. Along with Google recognition of the artist's page, the artist can designate a link on their page, which can direct viewers to an on-line gallery or artist webpage. An integral part of the Culture Guide, the Artist Registry is one of the reasons that Spacetaker has a 42% "add to favorites" rate.
The Artist Saloon: critical conversation in a casual environment
Every third Wednesday of the month, Winter Street Studios, Spacetaker and Buffalo Bayou Art Park host The Artist Saloon, an evening of artist interaction and libation where three artists present, in an informal atmosphere, creative dialogs/talks/presentations about their work followed by a question and answer period where the audience can glean further insight into the artist, the artist's aesthetic and the creative process. Designed to introduce local area artists to one another, The Artist Saloon is lead by two to three artists working in differing artistic arenas (performing, visual, literary, etc...) in order to foster conversation/ cross-disciplinary pollination between artists and their chosen media.
Winter Holiday Art Market - WHAM
The Winter Holiday Art Market is held to give artists an economic engine to grow their markets and sell their work at a time of year when additional revenue is often needed. This annual event generates opportunities for artists to engage the public in a festive atmosphere and to have their artwork seen by a large and diverse audience. Everything from jewelry to paintings to sculpture was available for purchase. The diverse art offerings brought together, at one event and one location, offered the Houston public a unique setting that highlighted the extraordinary and varied Hous- ton art scene.
Full Service Digital Photo Studio
Full Service Digital Photo Studio is designed to support Houston artists by providing them with affordable access to document their work and to convert 35mm slides into digital files. The Photo Studio also has portable equipment to shoot in artist studios or on location at a performance.
Workshops
The ARC will host workshops series for local artist to learn about the business of art. In the fall of 2008 our workshops will kick off with a partnership with Amegy Bank that will present a series of financial management workshops designed to help artists manage their finances, demystify home buying and plan for retirement.
talk to us!
We'd love to hear from you! Tell us about an event, give us feedback, or even volunteer! Just send us an email.
Mailing Address
PO Box 66494
Houston, TX 77266-6494
Staff
Founder and Director
David A. Brown
Editor in Chief
Chris Dunn
Associate Editor/Web Ninja
Rebecca Ayres
Chief Technology Officer
Carlos Go Boncan
Web Administrator
Chet Farmer
Grants and Development
Christa Forster
Board of Directors
Board President
Jennifer Brugh
Board Vice President
Elaine Dillard
Board Treasurer
Carol Liffman
Board Secretary
Jenni Rebecca Stephenson
Board Members
Carlos Go Boncan
David Brown
Adam Gibson
Peter Glynn
Nicole Haagenson
Selven O'Keef Jarmon
Alton LaDay
Nicole Laurent
Toby Lister
David Mackie
Lester Marks
Claudia Solis
Adam Walker
Santosh Varughese
Tina Zulu
Advisory Board Members
Shannon Bishop
Christina Giannelli
Gardner Landry
Barry Mandel
Rene Saldivar