Artist and Public Life Housing Residency Seeks Applicants

Located in the Garfield Park neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana, the Artist and Public Life Housing Residency (APLR) is a long-term (minimum 7 years) ownership residency program intended to support artists who use their talents and skills to help drive positive change in the community. The goal is to create a perpetual system to help avoid displacement of artist neighbors from affordable housing and allow artists to enjoy equity as homeowners while they work, in part, to collaborate with other neighbors to boost the culture, creativity, livability, safety, health, and economy of the local and greater community. This project is linked to larger efforts on the block funded by a $3 million grant by Lilly Endowment, announced in December of 2018. Also, this program and process comes — in part — from the research and organizational efforts by Indianapolis-based artist and planner Danicia Monet.

Public information sessions will be at Tube Factory Art Space December 5th at 6 pm and December 7th at 11 am.

WHO IS BEHIND APLR?
This is a partnership between the socially-engaging art and placemaking organization Big Car Collaborative (“Big Car”), nonprofit developer Riley Area Community Development Corporation (“Riley”); and the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership (“INHP”).

Additional keys to this project and the future of our Cruft Street micro community:

• We live in the neighborhood, communicate and work with neighbors as neighbors — and welcome everyone
• Our programming is about social cohesiveness first — with art as an avenue to bringing people together
• Physical improvements artists will help build create needed social infrastructure
• We have already created a cluster of positive energy in a small area — one block built around Tube Factory
• We anticipated and support public transit (the nearby Red Line), walkability, and bike access
• We bought these previously vacant properties early before market forces began to influence price
• We are not displacing anyone with this project and are, instead, moving people with low incomes into long-term affordable housing
• We team up with many partners (some covering our gaps in our expertise)
• We aren’t concerned about profit for reinvestment in the next project
• We’re creating an open/porous cooperative cohousing community vs. a closed one that is for members/owners only (includes shared meals)
• We value active public and third spaces and help create them when needed and when invited
• Artists welcome the idea of supporting the community in exchange for affordable housing and studio affordability
• We track data and gather stories, revising and adjusting along the way

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A RESIDENT ARTIST?
We view the label of artists broadly, to include creatives, makers, culinary arts, designers - anyone who considers themselves an artist. Artists will engage in the program, focusing on the Garfield Park neighborhood for their first three years. They then may have a sabbatical from public work if they desire. In the next three years, the artist can propose work for the community more broadly (beyond the neighborhood) if they desire. So the commitment to public work is for seven years with one year off in the middle. This plan and timeframe is negotiable and can be adjusted with each artist resident.

• The resident artist, once in place, must fulfill requirements of residency program. If not, the partnership will purchase the artist’s interest in the house. The partnership will then find another artist for the program.
• Residency artists will receive research and training support from Big Car staff and others as you will be representing our partnership in the community.
• Artists will open their home for some form of public engagement during neighborhood-wide “open house” events 4-6 times per year.
• Artists will dedicate 16+ hours per month to working with the public in the community for six (6) years in exchange for $5,000 in downpayment assistance funding. 
• Artists will have opportunities to participate in Big Car organized exhibition and collaboration opportunities. We will encourage partnerships between resident artists, visiting artists, other local artists, and Big Car staff artists.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Qualifying artists, selected by a panel of Partnership and neighbors, co-own the home with our Partnership. Just over half of the cost of the home is owned by the Partnership, (51%) The Artist will own the other half of the home (49%) while also committing to building participation with Big Car in the Garfield Park Neighborhood, the greater Indianapolis community and statewide community arts projects. These APLR homes have been developed at total cost ranging from $100,00 to $145,000. The 49% of the property will be sold to the Artists in a range of $45,000 to $55,050. IHNP will provide financing for the homeowner if needed. Under a shared ownership model, the Artist-HomeOwner will benefit from gaining equity paid into home ownership. Both the Partnership and the Artist-HomeOwner have defined ownership responsibilities under a structure similar to a condominium. Should the Artist decide to leave the program and the home, the Partnership will purchase the Artist-HomeOwner’s interest in the home based on a fixed purchase price. The Partnership will then find a new resident Artist-HomeOwner under the same selection criteria.

OTHER INFORMATION

1. If you’ve experienced any of the following:  a Chapter 7 bankruptcy within the past 2-years, your credit score is below 550, late payments on your rental history, and if self-employed less than two years and self-employment is your only source of income, then you may not meet the minimum mortgage qualification criteria.
2. Potential homeowners must be income-qualified based on the following maximum income guidelines:

• Household of 1: $44,750
• Household of 2: $51,150
• Household of 3: $57,550
• Household of 4: $63,900
• Household of 5: $69,050

HOW TO APPLY

Visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PHZ6YFV to indicate your interest in the program and start the prequalification process.

QUESTIONS?  Contact Shauta Marsh, shauta@bigcar.org or 317-450-6630.