The most fundamental necessity for every budding artist transitioning from student to professional is a place to work — a space where creativity can blossom. 
Local artist Mark Biletnikoff said he, like many artists, struggled to find a comfortable place to work in Baton Rouge that would facilitate the necessary elements for a professional art studio. While these elements vary among artists and are dependent on the medium of art, he said every artist needs their own place away from home where they can work.
Eventually, Biletnikoff found his own studio to work, but the space quickly became a hub for growing artists to meet and showcase their work. After a while, he started receiving inquiries from other artists about where they could find their own studio. 
“It was born from the lack of studio space in Baton Rouge,” Biletnikoff said. “There was really nowhere to create. As an artist, I figured if I needed it, then so did other artists.” 
Biletnikoff recognized the need for a space in Baton Rouge where local artists could focus on their new pieces and share their work. In 2009, the first “N” space was created in a house leased in Mid-City with five studio spaces called “Studio 126.”
A year later, the group of artists outgrew its location, so he invested all of his savings to fund the acquisition of a 5,000 square-foot location on Jefferson Highway at the Settlement in Bocage. N the Art Space was born. 
While many artists often work out of their houses or apartments, it can be difficult to separate home life and professional life, Biletnikoff said. An artist can become uncomfortable in that kind of environment, and it can even stifle creativity.
“Having that separation in the ability to go somewhere to create your own little atmosphere instead of where you live can make a lot of difference,” Biletnikoff said. 
When the building was first leased, N the Art Space had no budget to work with, so the funding came solely from Biletnikoff and the artists who were passionate about having their own area to grow and expand.
However, the initial investment was an overwhelming success because the first building was full within two weeks. 
“It’s basically built by the power of the artist group that it supports,” Biletnikoff said. “When you get down to the nitty gritty, it’s about artists having the space to create.” 
Painters, photographers, musicians and many other forums of art are represented in the complex, making it a mecca for creativity, he said. The price range of the studios in the complex range from about $150 to $800 a month, depending on the size and location. The ages of the artists currently occupying the space range from 20 to 77, he said. 
N the Art Space functions similarly to a co-op, as Biletnikoff runs the entire complex as a normal business. But like a firm of artists, it is operated by a group for their own benefit. And while the artists can come and go as they please in the 24/7 complex, Biletnikoff said he is deeply invested in the daily operations of N the Art Space. 
Even the name of the complex is a play off his own name, as he signs all of his work “Nikoff,” and the name of his study has transformed over the years so other artists can identify under the studio complex name, he said. 
He said he gets daily inquiries from artists wanting to lease a studio, and there is an extensive waitlist because the complex is usually 100 percent occupied. Among the studios, now three buildings, there are 40 artists occupying the 12,000 square-foot space.
While several University graduates have come in and out of the studios in the complex, Biletnikoff said he has often offered undergraduate art students spaces for their senior showcases and only charged them about $20. He said this is consistent with his encompassing initiative of supplying an affordable place for artists to learn and grow.
N the Art Space also offers youth and adult art classes for those wanting to begin their education in any realm of art. 
“We’re here to supply the need,” Biletnikoff said. 
You can reach Michael Tarver on Twitter @michael_T16.

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Emily Brauner

“N the Art Space,” owned by Mark Nickoff, is an art studio complex, located 7809 Jefferson Highway, where artists can rent spaces to work, teach, or study.