This summer, the empty triangle-shaped building on Saint Ferdinand Street will become a unique space for local artists.
The Cary Saurage Community Arts Center will serve as the new home for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and is scheduled to be completed by July 2021.
The building, located at 233 Saint Ferdinand St., has been out of use for the last two years. While most were afraid to take on such an odd-shaped building, the Arts Council thought it was the perfect location, according to CEO and president of the Arts Council Renee Chatelain.
“For an arts organization to be in a triangle-shaped, mid-century modern building is perfect,” Chatelain said. “We felt it was really important that we keep the structure intact even though we are redesigning the whole interior.”
The Arts Center will be available for anyone in 11 Baton Rouge-area parishes, including Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, Washington, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.
One of the Arts Council’s main goals is diversity; it includes one representative from each parish to ensure the community’s best interest. The council rotates every two years, and anyone can apply.
“In 2017 we really adopted what we call ‘arts IDEAS’ as a core value for the organization,” Chatelain said. “IDEAS is an acronym for inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility and sustainability.”
The facilities are priced on a scale. However, artists who are making a project to better their community can apply to be an artist resident and get the space granted to them for free. Students can also volunteer at the Arts Center to earn use of the space.
“Let’s say that you are a student and you want space to do work but you really don’t have money to rent a space,” Chatelain said. “We can work out a program where you can give us some hours at the front desk or help us with an event, and you can use those hours as a credit toward the space so you don’t have to pay.”
On the first floor of the Arts Center, there is an art gallery, artist co-op, recording studio and a black box theater. The artist co-op has two kilns and all the furniture is moveable, so the space is as collaborative or separate as needed. The art gallery can be used for traveling art shows, workshops and more. The recording studio is a state-of-the-art sustainable design with sound recording and new mechanical systems.
The second floor contains the Arts Council offices, creative conference space and more of the art gallery. The conference space is available for rent with discounts for nonprofits and individual artists. The second floor contains an exhibit called Writings on the Wall, a feature of local literary artists’ work.
“Writings on the Wall is a repository of local artists who are in the literary arts, whether it’s poets or writers,” Chatelain said. “There will also be an artist lounge. If you are a writer or a journalist and you want to do your work there, you’ll have some resources from the Writings on the Wall, but you’ll also have a lounge space.”
There is also a rooftop terrace available for guests of the Arts Center to use. It will have a piano, seating and a view of the skyline and the river.
More information on the Arts Center is available here: https://www.artsbr.or