photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Art Love Collective co-founders Hollie Blakeney and Morgan Long are aiming for their new artist collective at 646 Vermont St. to become an inclusive hub for all, regardless of background.

A new artist collective in Lawrence is aiming to become a creative hub for its members and remove some of the barriers that stand in the way of their success along the way.

The Art Love Collective, led by co-founders Hollie Blakeney and Morgan Long, is set to host its opening day next Friday, March 17 at 11 a.m. at 646 Vermont St. The pair spoke with the Journal-World about the collective a week ahead of the opening Friday.

Despite not even having hosted that opening day event yet, the collective is already getting plenty of buy-in. Folks who visit the still-in-progress space will see works, created by some of the 30 or so artists that have already become members, scattered across the room as they wait to be put on display.

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Artwork created by members of the Art Love Collective waits to be put on display ahead of the collective’s opening day event.

“People trusted our vision, which is really important,” Long told the Journal-World. “…It has been wild, the response that we’ve gotten from the community.”

The idea is that artists — not just visual artists, but writers and musicians, too — can buy a monthly membership that allows them full use of Art Love Collective’s studio and gallery spaces in exchange for the membership fee and a 10% commission on sales. Other membership options might add perks focused more on classroom and event space rentals, for example. There’s also a guest artist option requiring no membership, but in exchange asks for a 40% commission on sales. Memberships range from $100 to $200 per month.

According to the collective’s website, this membership model gives the gallery a steady income base to count on regardless of sales while also giving artists a larger cut of their sales at 90% in most cases. There’s also the option to go with a traditional commission model, too.

Blakeney is all too familiar with the model because she’s already seen it work for another collective — and it’s one she founded almost two decades ago, an arts co-op in Michigan called Chartreuse. The co-op has been successfully using the model for more than 16 years, she said.

“We just (want to) keep everything we can in the artists’ pockets,” Long added. “We have to pay rent, but that’s all we want to do.”

But the collective’s not just intended to be artist-focused — Blakeney said it’s also to give folks from marginalized and underrepresented communities a space lacking any barriers. The pair mentioned Indigenous and LGBTQ+ artists in particular as folks they’re hoping to serve with an inclusive creative hub.

But the barriers they’re trying to remove extend beyond just cultural background and sexual identity, too. There’s also a focus on eliminating socioeconomic barriers like a post-secondary education in the arts.

Long, a photographer by trade, said the latter area has been a challenge she’s all too familiar with. When she was an emerging artist herself, she said she struggled to get a foot in the door at more established art spaces and now wants to help others avoid that. Blakeney, who’s a self-taught artist herself, agreed.

“I didn’t go to school for art, but I’ve been doing it for years,” Blakeney said. “But a lot of times, that doesn’t matter if you don’t have the ‘MFA’ behind your name.”

The collective is partnering with a number of area organizations and nonprofit agencies — the Indigenous Community Center, existing arts nonprofit the Lawrence Percolator, Topeka’s 785 Arts gallery and B.L.A.C.K. Lawrence — in an effort to keep things as accessible and community-serving as possible.

“If there’s a situation where someone really wants to be a part of this and they can’t pay the membership fee, we’re going to be flexible,” Blakeney said. “Because we want to be accessible. We’ll develop a scholarship fund so we can still pay the rent, but we’re not going to say no to anyone because they can’t pay a membership due, because that’s not being inclusive.”

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Blakeney and Long were first given the keys to the main space at 646 Vermont St. in early January, formerly a Jos. A. Bank clothing store, and they’ve been able to make plenty of progress on renovations since then. It’s hard now to imagine what used to fill the space as artwork begins lining the walls — at least outside of elements like the full-length mirror that’s been left standing in the former fitting room area.

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Formerly the dressing room area of the clothing store, this space will be turned into a space for classrooms and workshops.

Along with its flagship gallery, the collective will have two classroom spaces in its main building space that will be available for rental for artists who want to host classes or workshops, exhibition space and a photography studio space. It’ll also include an art library filled with not just books but equipment and tools for folks to rent, too.

They’re also renting space two doors down at 616 Vermont St., which will be converted into 14 studio and shared workspaces. They’ll even have an online storefront that members can use to sell their works.

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Two doors down at 616 Vermont St., the collective is planning to convert another rented space into 14 studio and shared workspaces.

But the collective won’t just be a gallery and classroom space — the pair wants it to be a true gathering space. Long said there will be elements like seating pockets and a free coffee bar, intended to draw artists away from coffee shops and to the collective’s space instead, where they can sketch and interact with other creatives.

“We don’t just want it to be a space to come and shop, necessarily,” Long said. “We hope people will come hang out, even if they aren’t members.”

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

This space, which is open for the time being, will eventually be sectioned off and turned into a classroom and exhibition space.

All of these elements were ideas sourced by members of the community, Blakeney said. A focus group of around 20 folks offered feedback on price points and resources they thought would be helpful for members of the collective, and she said they were all taken into account.

“We really listened to what people told us, and then reframed it in a way that was totally different (than when we were developing the idea),” Blakeney said.

After its opening event, Art Love Collective is set to be open to the public Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Folks looking for more information about memberships or events can visit the collective’s website: artlovecollective.org.