Artspace - Building Better Communities Through The Arts 

Early in 2008, a group of artists whose work involves flame or high heat asked Artspace to help them determine the feasibility of transforming an old auto repair shop in South Minneapolis into a new “fire arts” center. What began as a pro bono consulting job blossomed into a true partnership between Artspace, which will develop and own the building, and the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, the new nonprofit organization that will operate it.

The fire arts include sculptural welding, blacksmithing, glasswork, jewelry making, bronze and other metal casting, and fire performance, among others. The Fire Arts Center will be a home for these and related industrial and fine art forms. It will offer regular classes, provide studio space that artists can rent, and operate a gallery.

The Center’s new home, a one-story, 4,700-square-foot structure that most recently housed the Wreck Brothers auto repair shop, was built in 1915 as a silent movie theater and has had a variety of uses over the years. Now it will live on as a new arts center filling a unique niche in the Twin Cities’ arts scene. Artspace will close on the property and begin construction in September 2009 with occupancy expected in early 2010.