Artspace - Building Better Communities Through The Arts 

When the historic Salz Tannery near downtown Santa Cruz ceased operations in 2001, Ceil Cirillo, Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency, saw an opportunity to address the space needs outlined in the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County’s 1999 Cultural Plan. Civic leaders as well as artists had struggled throughout the 1990s to come to terms with rising real estate prices that were making it increasingly difficult for arts organizations and individual artists to remain in the area.

Less than a mile from downtown Santa Cruz, the 8.3-acre site has now being transformed into a new cultural complex, the Tannery Arts Center, using a combination of rehabilitation and new construction. The Arts Center will ultimately consist of three distinct elements, two of them developed and operated by Artspace.

Phase 1, the Tannery Artist Lofts, 100 units of affordable live/work space in two new buildings, went into operation in early 2009. A few weeks earlier, more than 100 Santa Cruz County artists camped out overnight to submit their applications for units, which were assigned on a “first come, first served” basis; more than 400 artists submitted applications in the first month.

Phase 2, renovation of five of the Tannery's historic buildings is scheduled to begin in mid-2009 with completion in 2010. These buildings will provide work space for painters, sculptors, musicians, photographers, artisans and many other creative activities.