January 31, 2020
Media Contact:
Scott Peterson, Director of Communications, Office of Public Information, 202-277-9412
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – The Howard County Arts Council is seeking applications from artists to fill multiple artist studio spaces at Long Reach Village Center. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until studios are filled. Applicants will be evaluated based on their artistic discipline, artistic merit and commitment, as well as the appropriateness of their activities for the available space.
“The Howard County arts community is one of the most creative, prolific and diverse throughout our state and I’m thrilled to see this program come to fruition to provide space for artists and their important work,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. “This is another step in the Long Reach Rising Revitalization Project, which will result in a central hub of the art, education, and economic empowerment in Howard County.”
Long Reach studio artists will enjoy a prime location as a part of Howard County’s Long Reach Rising Revitalization Project and will have the opportunity to showcase their work in pop-up galleries and other special events on the premises once these programs are put in place.
"I am elated that the Long Reach Village Center will have artist studios which will expand opportunities and create much needed synergy with the African Art Museum of Maryland and the Columbia Art Center,” said Opel Jones District 2 Councilmember. “I wholeheartedly support the rejuvenation of Long Reach Village Center."
The program is seeking artists representing a variety of disciplines and will require artists to use their studios for an average of 8 hours a week. There will be 3 suites available, with multiple artist studios in each that will be managed by Howard County Arts Council. The available studios range in size from 120 to 187 square feet.
"We are excited about supporting the Long Reach Rising revitalization effort by working with the County to launch the Long Reach Artist Studio Program,” said Coleen West, Executive Director of the Howard County Arts Council. “There is a well-documented need for affordable working space for artists in our community. This new studio program will help the Arts Council fill that need and, at the same time, be part of re-imagining the village center as a hub for artists and creativity."
The Long Reach Artist Studio Program is a satellite program of the Howard County Arts Council and is designed to complement the Village Center’s current and incoming arts organizations such as Columbia Arts Center which has gallery space, an artisan shop, and year-round educational programming. Recently, Howard County Executive Ball announced the African Art Museum of Maryland would be also moving into space at Long Reach Village Center. The Village Center was built in the late 1970s and is widely used by the neighborhood residents to meet a variety of office and commercial needs. Prior to the center opening, residents of Long Reach gathered for a village meeting and voted for arts and crafts as the prevailing theme for the village center.
Complete details on the Long Reach Artist Studio Program are available at https://www.hocoarts.org/LR-artist-studios. To arrange a tour of the Village Center studios, email deputydirector@hocoarts.org.