In early 2020, leaders from the Southeast Texas Arts Council (SETAC), the Downtown Beaumont Cultural Arts District (DBCAD) and the City of Beaumont, invited Artspace, a national nonprofit in the field of creative space development, to assess the potential for an affordable mixed-use, artist live/work facility in downtown Beaumont.
Between June and August of 2020, a series of (virtual) focus groups were held with civic leaders, public and private funders/financiers, individual artists/creatives/makers and arts and cultural organizations, including a meeting specifically for understanding the needs of artists identifying as Black, Indigenous and/or a Person of Color.
These meetings along with a virtual tour of potential sites and other research revealed strong interest in and opportunity for the proposed project concept in the Downtown Beaumont Cultural Arts District and set the stage for this next big step, a Creative Space Needs Survey. Input will help us test the concept and determine if there is enough interest to warrant further investment and if so, what types and how many living and working spaces should be planned, what amenities to include, and what “affordable” really means to the region’s artists, makers, culture bearers and creatives.