A new nonprofit art center hopes to become a creative center for artists from the South Side and beyond. Mitchell Street Arts (MiSA) is located on the ground floor of Kunzelmann-Esser Lofts building in what was a former furniture store.
“Our three major programming areas are our stage, our artist-in-residence program, and our makerspace,” explains Rew Gordon, MiSA’s founder and director. Gordon says building a community art center was a dream over a decade in the making. After over a year of planning, fundraising and renovating, MiSA will have a grand opening Aug. 18, with a variety of events to follow..
MiSA’s stage will feature music, dance and theater, some brought in by community partners who might not have their own venues
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MiSA also has four in-house studio spaces that artists can apply for. Accepted artists get to use the space for free for a six-month residency. Gordon says residencies sometimes can feel “exploitive and transactional,” so MiSA strives to keep the requirement pressures minimal.
“Really the only requirements are you have to use the space – there’s a minimum amount of time you have to be here,” Gordon says. Residency artists are also expected to lead a class, workshop or present a lecture related to their field of art and to participate in a gallery show.
MiSA has selected their first set of artists, who begin their residency on Aug. 25: Mikal Floyd-Pruitt, Nohemi Chavez and Jovanny Hernandez Caballero, Bill Walker and Fanana Banana.
“I see a lot of opportunity for local artists,” says Nicole Acosta, an artist and MiSA’s creative events director. “I grew up on the South Side so it’s really exciting for me to see a space like this on this street that’s accessible and welcoming and is eager to invite artists in to work with them.”
Another feature of MiSA is a makerspace in the venue’s large basement which includes a woodworking area, ceramics studio and a photography darkroom. People who review the rules and sign off on a membership agreement can use the space for free three days a week. Those who want access all week can by buying a membership.
Other components to MiSA include a room for classes and workshops, a Rise & Grind Coffee shop and gallery space in what was the former furniture store’s giant glass display windows.
Upcoming MiSA Events
Grand Opening
FRIDAY, AUG. 18 FROM 6-10 P.M.
The big opening night party is a free event that takes place Aug. 18, 6-10 p.m.. The evening will include live music by Pulpa de Guayaba and DJ Honeypot from the No Stress Collective, hors d’oeuvres, interactive mural painting, and tours of the space.
“The Art of Limitless Scale” Opening Reception
THURSDAY, AUG. 24 FROM 5:30-8 P.M.
MiSA features guest art gallery curators, their first being muralist Isabel Castro, who is putting together this showing of work by over 20 local artists. The exhibition runs through Nov. 20.
Nite Lite
SEPT. 8-9 FROM 5-9 P.M.
This two-day collaboration between MiSA and artist collective Joy Engine, will see the street in front of MiSA closed for a “visually dazzling, free, family friendly sensory experience” that will feature artists projecting art made of light onto the building. It’s a free event that will combine “light, art, dance, music, fashion and food.”
For more information on MiSA and its upcoming shows and programs, visit mitchellstreet.org.
