The Artistery
By Anney Traymany, December 2008
The Artistery was established in 2001 as a youth-run arts community in a small house on SE Milwaukie by Peter Jenkins. Under the tax umbrella of the local Imago Dei church, the organization intended to provide affordable rent for young artists in an encouraging atmosphere. Soon, the living room and basement became venue space. Northwest artists Adrian Orange, Karl Blau, Phil Elverum, YACHT, Laura Veirs, and many more all performed during this time. In 2004, Peter handed his position to resident Aaron Shepherd, and The Artistery as it is now known was born.
Shepherd moved the organization away from the church and turned his focus to regular booking and to the cultivation of an artistic environment. He relocated the project to SE Division in 2005 and took cues from his friends at Department of Safety, a like-minded live/work arts organization in Anacortes, WA.
“Department of Safety was extremely important in the decision to change the format of the Artistery. Alex [Mahan] and Flint [Jamison] were doing things that I’d heard of people doing, but at the time I’d never seen it first hand or thought it could be run in a sustainable way,” says Shepherd.
The location on Division, a 4000+ sq. ft. commercial (non residential) former church, is funded and staffed by its studio tenants, and a small percentage of door money goes towards utilities and other expenses. This offers the financial freedom to keep show cost down and the ability to exclude alcohol from the business plan.
With the move to the new building came a renewed emphasis on booking shows. 2006 saw twice the amount of events as 2005, reflecting the (much reported) exponentially-growing arts culture of Portland. As the Artistery continues to grow in both size and momentum, a new dynamic has surfaced. It has become an environment where artists can work independently while helping bridge the gap between the 21 and under 21 communities. Its capacity to offer Portland's youth a safe community haven where they can make art and enjoy live music while feeling "at home and accepted" (as White Fang's Erik Wolfgang put it) is a feat that rivals any other venue in the metropolitan area. Shepherd maintains the rigorous, disciplined calendar of a 'professional' venue, while the building and basement space ooze a house-show vibe.
I first became involved with The Artistery in late 2007. I was only 18 and completely excited to learn that one of the few places where I was allowed to see shows was also the place housing music I was interested in. Even before I started renting space here, I was volunteering at every show because the only friends I had at the time, who incidentally are now my best friends, in Portland volunteered here. Among my first shows were Mt. Eerie, Old Time Relijun, and Aaron Shepherd's band Metal. I was not the only youth in Portland positively impacted by The Artistery, however. The exceptional White Fang, a young band of Portland natives, play here on a regular basis. In fact, this is where they met Curtis Knapp and Adrian Orange of Marriage Records, who released their last record.
Shepherd continues as the backbone of the organization. “The Artistery,” Shepherd says, “has been one of the most challenging and rewarding projects I’ve ever been involved with. Challenging because when you dedicate your life to something, it almost becomes what defines you and I am fortunate enough to have dedicated myself to something I feel, and I believe the greater community feels, is a good cause. That has a lot to do with what it has blossomed into - which is a group of people doing what they love while giving back to the entire community, not just the 21 and over community, the culture that naturally belongs to it."
We at The Artistery all feel convinced of our contribution to the existing arts culture of Portland in our dedication to both accessibility and intentionality. Hopefully, our presence can serve as an example to other burgeoning youth-based arts organizations in Portland of a model that works.
Anney, a southern California native, relocated to Portland in 2007. She divides her time between her two jobs: the voice of The Artistery, and the shipping manager of a pirate merchandise website. She's pretty into porches, cappuccinos, Simon and Garfunkel, and photography. It is also worth mentioning that White Fang is probably her favorite non Simon and Garfunkel band.