by Shilanda Woolridge

The ArtPlex is a creative oasis nestled between the hustle and bustle of downtown and the University of Texas. There is truly no place like it. A walk through the halls will take you past galleries and studios that contain painters, photographers, theater companies, film makers, and writers. Various works adorn the walls for the enjoyment of others; and many a welcoming smile and a "Come on in and tell me what you think!" have been offered by working artists in their studios who notice an art appreciator viewing pieces in the hallway. Here the spirit of camaraderie and creativity go hand in hand.

The core of the ArtPlex is found in the Artist's Coalition of Austin (ACA), formerly The Artist's Cooperative of Austin. In the spring of '93, the cooperative was scouting for a nice building and a good deal. They found it at 402 Baylor Street, an 11,000 square foot, partially air-conditioned building that belonged to Goodwill. The cooperative had to present a business plan for the space, and was allowed to rent a portion of the building at a pro-rated rate. "Richard King of Goodwill was very gracious and believed in us," explains Jan Roset, office manager and one of the founding members of ACA.

They occupied the building in April, and the space was divided up to create a 2,000 square foot gallery called Art Space and twenty-seven studios. Samantha Randall, the first president of ACA and an architect, helped to lay out the spaces with tape on the floor. The artists literally had to build their own studios from the ground up using the tape as a guide. "We were working purely on artist energy because we had no money," says Roset. "It was very hot, but it was a wonderful area and we loved it. The Public Domain Theatre did their first play there, and so did Salvage Vanguard Theatre. We also had poetry readings and shows in the gallery. That's how we made our money to pay the bills." In August, the cooperative officially received its non-profit status and changed its name to the Artist's Coalition of Austin.

Change is inevitable, and after three years at Baylor Street ACA was notified that Goodwill wished to reclaim its space. They cut ACA's current space in half and gave them six months to find another home. They enlisted the help of commercial real estate agent Gary Peden because he was working for a broker whose husband, Ron Prince, was the president of ACA at the time. "We couldn't afford to buy the facility because we had no money and were in debt. We were artist friendly and always paid them, but the group itself remained behind," says Roset.

Regardless, Peden got to work and found an abandoned state office building that had been empty for four years. The building used to be the home for the Texas Commission of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. According to Paul Smith, Peden's partner and manager of the ArtPlex, "It was a really ugly building on the inside. It had wood grain paneling everywhere, these tiny cubby hole-like offices, ugly carpet, and low ceilings. Gary had a great vision that he could put the ACA in here and then create art studios with the remainder of the space. One limitation of the space is that there isn't much parking. So for a traditional business that would be a problem, but most of the artists are here in the evening or on weekends when there's a lot of street parking."

ACA decided that they didn't want to purchase the building at the time because of debt, but they were interested in leasing. Instead Peden gave them a deal: they could have free usage of the gallery if some of the members rented studios. So half of the remaining ACA tenants bid farewell to Baylor St. in December of 1996 and moved into the new building in January of 1997. They used more artist energy and elbow grease to build the ACA Gallery, which was ready in March of 1997.

The ACA folks weren't the only ones working hard, as Peden had the rest of the building to attend to. He did most of the work himself with the aid of a construction worker from El Salvador named Pablo XYZ. They went through and took up the carpet in the halls to reveal the concrete, and built and removed walls to create the artist studio spaces. "Gary was ingenious at adapting resources," says Smith. "He would frequently go to the Habitat for Humanity Re*Sale Shop and buy doors, windows, and anything he could use for his construction. The front doors for the ACA gallery itself were found when Gary was walking by Dobie Mall when they were doing some remodeling, and he noticed some doors being taken out. He said, 'How much will you sell this to me for?' and he bought the doors on the spot."

So how did this new space receive its name? "I believe Ron Prince came up with the name ArtPlex. He threw it out as an idea and Gary said, 'That's a good one, let's go with that!'" says Smith. Peden didn't purchase the ArtPlex at the time; he was on a ten-year lease with an option to buy. About a year into that lease, he was talking with photographers Todd Williams and Mark Madson. Williams and Madson were founding members from Baylor St. and very happy in the new space.

"When I met Gary, we hit it off and got along very well." says Williams. "I'm an old real estate guy as well. I leased a studio around the corner from Mark Madson, my partner, and we really liked the building. Things were getting better and better at the ArtPlex, and more interesting people were moving in. Gary and I talked over coffee, and he said that he had an option to buy the building, which would take a lot of money for the down payment." So Williams, Madson, and a silent partner who was a lawyer, agreed to go in with Peden on the purchase of the building. They closed on the ArtPlex at the end of June 1998, with each owning a quarter of the building.

The closing of the deal was a dream come true for Williams. "For me the idea was to own the building and never be a tenant again or kicked out like we were," he said. "Here we want to provide a little security for artists who have a good space to work, and not have outrageous market forces dictating our lives. So that once you get set up you won't have to move so the building can be renovated for attorneys, CPAs, or architects. The goal is to keep the rent affordable regardless of the market conditions. So, if you lease a space here you can hang around for a long time, and have a sense of place and get to know other people. The ArtPlex is a place that won't be yanked out from underneath the artists or have the rent tripled."

Safe and secure in the hands of its owners, the ArtPlex continues to grow. In the beginning the ACA Gallery was the lone gallery in a sea of studios. Over time some of the tenants with art studios decided to make their own galleries in their studios or purchase several spaces and break down the walls to make a gallery. "I think that's helped the energy of the building a lot, so that the night of the art opening and there's not just one gallery," says Smith.

The gallery openings are but one stepping stone in the path to build community; having friendly neighbors is another. "People working in their spaces will tend to get to know the artists working in the spaces in their vicinity, and maybe look at their artwork and share ideas about the projects they are working on," continues Smith.

In two short years the ArtPlex has become a full-blown creative community, and many possibilities lie in the future. The ArtPlex is already good neighbors with Women and Their Work and Galeria Sin Fronteras, but the proposed construction of the Blanton Museum and the Texas History Museum will bring even more foot traffic into the general area. Williams sees the ArtPlex as the locus of all the impending art activity. "I hope to have a relationship with the University of Texas. We can do teaching or have lecturers come over from the university to look at contemporary work here. We could also have shows by university students and have a symbiotic relationship with UT's art department. I've got big ideas!" says Williams.

In a few short years the vision of one man has transformed an abandoned ugly government building into a thriving center for the Arts. The April 1999 passing of Gary Peden may have taken his physical presence from the ArtPlex, but the spirit of his contribution will live on in every new piece of work created, every friendship made in the hallways, and every gallery opening or performance.