She saw a lack in gallery spaces, so an Ann Arbor artist opened a communal art studio

ANN ARBOR, MI -- Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Katie Hammond attributed the town's "hippy," "artsy" vibe to giving her the courage to pursue the arts professionally.

After graduating from Community High School — an alternative curriculum she says was "fantastic" — Hammond pursued an undergraduate degree in art and design at the University of Michigan in 2004. She ventured out of Michigan to earn her masters in fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016.

But when she returned to Ann Arbor, she discovered that the once ‘hippy’ town was lacking in spaces for people like her -- independent, professional artists.

The town had seen the end of venues like UM's "Work Gallery" on State Street and the "Gallery Project" on Fourth Avenue — what Hammond calls a "big lost" in the realm of galleries inclusive to local artists.

"There's not many galleries left here in Ann Arbor," Hammond said. "And (at) the galleries that are left, it's hard to get your foot in (the door)."

After experiencing a plethora of apartment galleries and open exhibitions in Chicago, Hammond saw a need for those same kind of "artist-run spaces" in her hometown. So, in 2020, she founded Ann Arbor Artist Studios on 4844 Jackson Road — a communal space for artists of all backgrounds to find affordable studios for rent.

Advertising her studio rentals on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and the Nextdoor app, Hammond has cultivated a community of seven artists representing various mediums, including painting, fiber arts, mixed media and writing.

"The mission behind the studio is to provide an affordable studio option in Ann Arbor and to have a place to network and connect with other artists, to be exposed to other artists on a daily basis," Hammond said.

On Saturday, June 24, Hammond will be hosting the studio's first group exhibition, featuring live music from the Dan Bennett jazz trio. All seven artists will have the opportunity to display their work and open up their studios for attendees to peruse.

The exhibition, which run from 5-9 p.m., is free and open to the public.

"Being a studio artist is very isolating, so it's very nourishing to be able to be around like-minded people," Hammond said of the space.

Ann Arbor Artist Studios uses partitions and curtains to separate the seven studios, allowing for ample common space for everyone to bounce ideas off each other, Hammond says.

In tandem with artistic collaboration at the communal studio, Hammond attributes her success to the arts education she received from a young age, having been in art lessons since the age of four.

"Any institutions that are legitimizing and promoting arts is so helpful because the whole rest of the world…is going to tell you that art is a bad idea and that it's not practical and you should pursue practical things," Hammond said.

She developed the kinds of business skills she says she uses to run the studio during her years running a solo photography business from 2004 through 2007.

"No one teaches you as an artist how to be a business person, but that's 50% of your job if you’re going to be selling your work."

In 2007, she decided to "get back to painting" and polish the medium she grew up loving. She says the interdisciplinary arts education she gained at the University of Michigan has allowed her to experiment with all sorts of materials as a painter.

"I’m not a traditional painter. I take a mixed-media approach, so I work with things like wood, velvet, fabric, glitter…painted sculptures," Hammond said. "I don't have any interest in replicating reality through painting."

During that time, Hammond joined the Ann Arbor Women Artists group, now called the Huron River Art Collective. She found it invaluable to be able to connect with other female artists, she says.

"Women are unsupported and unrepresented in the art world. All the famous artists you know are men, and they’re the ones who are successful and they sell. So it was really desirable to me to be in a group of all women's artists supporting each other."

She discovered the space that now houses Ann Arbor Artist Studios while spearheading the search for a building that Ann Arbor Women Artists could call home. The group used the space starting in 2012 for workshops, meetings and exhibitions.

Once the group relocated to a different space, Hammond saw the perfect opportunity to open her communal studio.

"Now I get to do everything on my terms and I’m the only boss," she said.

Those interested can learn more about Ann Arbor Artist Studios on their Facebook page.

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She saw a lack in gallery spaces, so an Ann Arbor artist opened a communal art studio