A trio of women artists is pooling their resources to launch a new artists collective space in Ypsilanti, Ypsi Alloy Studios.
Ilana Houten, Elize Jekabson and Jessica Tenbusch are in the final stages of opening the new space on Carpenter Road. The 3,600-square-foot space is in a light industrial building that previously was occupied by a print shop.
"It's a shared studio space," says Houten, a sculptor. "It's going to be 99 percent community artists who work in a variety of mediums. Each artist will have their own private space and there will be a communal space."
The three women are active in Ypsilanti's growing artist scene. They wanted to create a space for more artists in their little corner of Washtenaw County, especially now that SPUR Studios is closing.
There will be space for 15 artists and Ypsi Alloy Studios already has commitments from 14 artists in the community. The venture is still looking for a couple more artist tenants. Send an email to ypsi.alloy@gmail.com for more information.
"We hope to be able to move in on June 1st," Tenbusch says.
The trio believes there is a pent-up demand for this sort of space in Ypsilanti, especially now that the economy is picking up and commercial space is becoming harder to come by.
"We hope to get more interest so we can expand into a bigger space," Jekabson says.
Source: Ilana Houten, Elize Jekabson and Jessica Tenbusch, co-founder of Ypsi Alloy Studios
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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