How One Artist Found Affordable Studio Space in New York
Among New York artists’ ongoing quest for affordable studio space within the city, one artist relates his story of having discovered a studio in the South Bronx that is first and foremost inexpensive.
Among New York artists’ ongoing quest for affordable studio space within the city, one artist relates his story of having discovered a studio in the South Bronx that is first and foremost inexpensive, but also an appropriate distance from residential neighbors, provides a great deal of natural light (which is useful for his practice), and is easily accessible by public transportation.
Stan Squirewell is a visual artist originally from Washington, DC, who has a multidisciplinary practice concerned with race and memory perceived through the prisms of mythology. Squirewell became familiar with the Port Morris neighborhood by sharing a studio space in the area with a fellow artist for the better part of a year. However their sharing arrangement was only temporary, so Squirewell began to search for a space for himself last year. He initially focused on properties in Brooklyn, particularly in the Bushwick neighborhood, and found that the prospects there were bleak. He says most of what he was shown were dank, dark basement studios with little or no natural light, with mounds of dog waste outside, and most of these spaces were priced between $1,500 and $2,800 per month.
For Squirewell, whose primary source of income is his part-time position as an adjunct faculty member at Medgar Evers College, teaching art history, these prices were impractical. Earning less than what some of his students make as waitstaff, Squirewell had to find more viable options.
After looking at between 30 and 40 studio spaces in Brooklyn and despairing at the prospects of finding something workable, Squirewell began to search Stephanie Diamond’s Listings Project. After searching for about a month and half through her online listings, he was able to connect with the owner who had leased space to his previous studio mate. Squirewell negotiated a space with his new landlord, Steven Rosenfeld, creating his own specific layout, which was possible because the building consists mostly of an open-plan space.
The studio that he has contracted for, on 132nd Street near St. Ann’s Avenue, is on the fifth floor, measures about 400 square feet, with two large windows, and costs $720 per month. What’s more, the landlord agreed to replace the old, drafty, windows with new ones, add electrical sockets, install a personal circuit breaker box, and paint the newly constructed walls.
Steven Rosenfeld says his business is not very lucrative, nevertheless he told Hyperallergic he is happy to rent to artists because he prefers dealing with a “certain mentality,” which he describes as people who “enjoy art and enjoy making art.” For Rosenfeld, this outlook makes for what he calls “a symbiotic relationship.” He explains that he has been in Port Morris for 10 years and only in the last few years has interest in work spaces picked up, but he sees no signs that this situation will continue to improve. He now rents to about 20 artists studio spaces in the building in which Stan Squirewell’s studio is located.
Squirewell feels that this studio lease is a significant blessing for reasons beyond its price and amenities. He is happy to have other artists as his neighbors, plus key businesses nearby. There is an operation that makes wood frames next door, and an business that makes paint brushes on the ground floor. Additionally, the building has a freight elevator and parking spaces in the front. Citing these benefits, plus access to a Home Depot in the Bronx Terminal Market and nearby places to eat, for Stan Squirewell, renting his studio space in the South Bronx is so far a win-win situation.
