The Art of Affordable Living

When Allison Agsten was the director of the Main Museum, a now closed contemporary art space in downtown L.A., she would interview 50 artists to get a better sense of their needs and concerns.

“Artists told me that they were unable to afford both an apartment and a studio, so they might be living in a studio that lacked plumbing or heating,” Agsten says. “[Some] were living on Skid Row and still trying to find a way to pursue their practices, as well as feed themselves and find shelter for the night.”

Agsten is now a fellow at Arts for LA, where she developed a report about Los Angeles’ affordability for artists. In “(Re)inventing the Dream: Policies and Practices for Keeping Artists in Los Angeles,” of the 763 artists surveyed, nearly 90 percent stated affordability of housing and workspace in Los Angeles county is a serious concern. Over half reported annual incomes of $50,000 or less, in contrast to the median rent of a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles at $1,369 a month.

How can it be worth living in a city so out of budget?

“When it comes to the generation of creative work, I can't think of another city more exciting to be right now,” Agsten says. “Many of the artists that responded to my survey said that even though they could barely afford it here… they felt that they would really lose out if they couldn't capitalize on that at this moment in their careers.”

In Los Angeles, the annual creative economy output is $207.8 billion, according to the Otis Report on the Creative Economy. This includes a variety of creative industries, from fine arts to fashion to film.

When the Great Recession hit, arts funding was first on the chopping block, according to Adam Fowler, director of research at Beacon Economics, which prepared the report. However, he says we are now in a period of sustained economic growth, noting efforts by city and nonprofit organizations. Though housing was not touched on in the report, Fowler acknowledges the affordability problems relative to Los Angeles’ housing crisis.

“We've got a lot of work to do,” Fowler says. “If anything challenges our future economic growth, our lack of housing supply is a very real constraint going forward.”

The Perseverance of the Santa Fe Art Colony

“The city loses artists at it peril,” Sylvia Tidwell, the president of the Santa Fe Colony’s tenants association, says.

The Santa Fe Art Colony is on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles. The cluster of brick units in Vernon, a 5.2-square-mile industrial city, is an interesting sight among all the drab warehouses. Since 1986, the colony was Los Angeles’ only rent-restricted artist-in-residence community. But the contract keeping the colony rent-controlled expired and in June 2018, Fifteen Group purchased the buildings. On Nov. 1, rents were set to, on average, increase over 130 percent.

Of the 57 spaces, nearly 80 percent are rent-restricted and the rest are at market rate. The colony is home to 72 artists, and so to protect their home, the tenants association made a purchase offer. Fifteen Group did not respond to the offer.

On Nov. 21, Tidwell, leads a tour of the colony. A group gathers in Tidwell’s studio/apartment, including some people from a nearby neighborhood council and the mayor’s office. There’s also a lawyer.

Tidwell’s walls are decorated with her paintings, but the people marvel at the innovative bike rack high on the warehouse-like ceiling. It is connected to a lever that can wind the bicycle to the floor. The live-work spaces didn’t come with much except for a water heater. All the cabinets, furniture and hanging pot rack were Tidwell’s own contributions.

The group walks to another building on the property, which still has its original freight elevator. The inside looks like a multi-floor prison complex, with tall white walls and a cement floor. But all that changes when the group enters Eva Malhotra’s unit. The space is littered with colorful carvings.

Malhotra is a lawyer, but also an artist. She explains various pieces to the group, noting her Greek mythology-inspired works and El paso de Norte series.

“I couldn’t imagine not being able to create artwork… it’s not a hobby,” Malhotra says. “It’s a necessity.”

Carving Out Spaces

Art Share, in L.A.’s Arts District, is another live-work space for artists. It’s the only 100 percent affordable housing building in the area. Wayne Hoggatt, who works in a variety of mediums from audio to film, is a resident of Art Share. Hoggatt is a lifelong Angeleno. He reflects on once living in homes in South Central for just $650 a month.

“The cost of living is outrageous,” he says. “The rent just became out of reach.”

Art Share L.A.

Hoggatt witnessed a more affordable downtown’s Arts District. About five years ago, he says it was far cheaper and that there were fewer homeless people. In search of creative stimulation, Hoggatt became involved with Art Share. With all the music and art that goes on, it’s “very exciting to me,” he says.

Over his career, Hoggatt says he has traveled the world, but finds solace in Los Angeles. His family is here and he’s plugged in to the entertainment community. More importantly, he notes “artists support artists.”

Agsten would agree. She describes the art community as a welcoming place. “I don't think that's necessarily true of other great art cities,” she says. “Here people are really willing to give one another hand.”

In Hollywood, the Hollywood Arts Collective is finally under construction. The building will be mixed-income housing, with units intended as affordable housing for artists. The initiative began as a response to the Great Recession under Olga Garay-English, the former executive director of the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. She is now the executive director of the John Anson Ford Theatres. The city was $500 million in debt, she explains, and was slashing budgets across all departments.

“I was trying to figure out what were some ways that we could support the arts community,” Garay-English says.

Over 10 years later, The Actors Fund, a nonprofit that supports performers, and Thomas Safran & Associates, a property management company, control the project. Neither have announced specific rates for units.

“You have to be vigilant about keeping these opportunities for affordable housing in the mix,” says Gary-English, “otherwise people will just move further and further and further out of the urban center just to find a space where they can live and where they can create.”

High hopes for a costly city

Since almost getting kicked out of her home, Tidwell has found support from the city. The Los Angeles Emergency Renters Relief program provides temporary monetary assistance for renters that face eviction due to high rent increases. Through the program, Tidwell and several other tenants were able to pay their rent for November. Because the Santa Fe Colony tenants paid only a portion of the rent (and the city would cover the rest in another check), Fifteen Group said they would not accept the partial payment. Under a ticking clock, Tidwell and the other tenants were sent down a protocol rabbit hole to meet Fifteen Group’s rule of only accepting one check for rent payment. The city took quick action and the colony residents turned their payment in on time.

Tidwell, as the tenants association president, is leading the fight against Fifteen Group. She has lived at the Santa Fe Arts Colony for just over 20 years and primarily paints. All around her unit are large, and some small, canvases of “The Stage Series.” The paintings are translations from on-stage events, which she abstracts into energy-parallel colors.

It’s a lot of work to keep the Santa Fe Colony affordable. As Tidwell sees it, the fact that the government imposed rent protections when the colony was first established, is a wonderful assertion of artists’ value to Los Angeles.

“We really think this place is worth saving for the future, for the city,” Tidwell says. “It is bigger than us.”

Because Fifteen Group has not responded to the bid to purchase, the tenants association is suing. A pro bono legal team at Sheppard Mullin filed the complaint. Fifteen Group will be served later this week.