Starting an independent art/music space.

justin-guthrie:

Last year instead of getting an apartment I decided to rent a warehouse in an industrial segment of Tempe, Arizona. I had to go through a major leasing agency called Commercial Properties Incorporated, a very rule oriented buzzkill. I had one opening show that was killer, I had a whole month of shows lined up every weekend, rock n roll concerts, an electronic dance show, all aligned with art shows included. My leasers found out about my doings, the city found out, the police found out. Turns out I need thousands of dollars in permits, permits that have to be approved by the city. It cost $1000 just to apply and if they say no, then you lose that $1000. I just wanted to do something fun, productive, and wild for my friends and young community, I found out that’s a lot harder than it seems. Either way, if you want to do something for your community in regards to running an independent art/music space, here’s a little list I made that could help you:
1. Find a friend’s privately owned property to play on, the rules are different and you can perform or hang art freely. (just watch out for cops)
2. Hide your valuables, some people love to steal at house shows so watch out.
3. Find a closed store front or sublet and rent the space out for a night or sublet a warehouse for the night, if the feds bust you and make you get permits you would have already had your fun and don’t need those said permits.
4. If you rent out a warehouse and run the space technically illegally like I did, keep it as lowkey as possible, be out of the city’s eyes as much as you can.
5. Never make people pay to go to a house show, most of the time people have never even heard of the bands, donations are the way to go.
6. If you have an art/house show and there’s beer in the fridge be prepared for it to be stolen, it’s always nice to supply the beer if you’re hosting.
7. If the cops knock on the door, you don’t have to open the door, just have everyone chill out and have the host of the show walk outside and talk politely to the police.
8. Facebook events can get you busted in a commercial space, my leasers found me on facebook saw that I posted a rock n roll show event coming up at the gallery that they technically own and that’s how I got busted. Watch out for sneaky people, it’s better off to let people know via flyers, word of mouth, or atleast something less public like instagram or twitter.
9. Finish your art shows and music shows by 11 pm, that’s about the time the cops start prowling the streets for parties to bust, just find a house party or a bar afterwards.
10. Draw X’s on the underage kids hands if there is going to be loose alcohol, the last thing you want if your event gets busted is a contributing to minors offense.
11. Prepare for your art or band equipment to potentially ruined, accidents can happen, and if the person is drunk they might not want to help you pay for it to get fixed.
12. If you are trying to go legitimate and run a clean gallery or music space make sure you have the major bucks to handle all the fees that are going to ensue.
13. That being said, you have to get insurance for the spot you’re renting or buying, have to pay utilities, most places won’t let you live in the space, you need to have a music permit that is approved by the city (runs in the low thousands), because you have to work with the city they will keep a track on your spot to see if you’re causing ruckus.
14. Always have fun and always try and find a way to keep real art and music alive. Make an art scene because you love art and want to see the spirit of art flourish, don’t do it to try and make money, people will be able to tell and it will take away it’s purity. Go out there and try, even if you fail like I did, you will learn a lot and the next time you try you will be more knowledgeable.
Rest In Peace Girlfriend Gallery, it would’ve been fun.