Finding suitable studio space for artists in Fort Lauderdale can be a challenge. But a live and work space for artists opened in 2008 and features 37 loft space units in Sailboat Bend. Nonprofit real estate group Artspace pitches affordable spaces for artists, creators, and creative entrepreneurs with locations throughout the United States including Sailboat Bend Artist Lofts.
The units house both visual and performing artists, as well as a three-story resident-run gallery space, 1310 Gallery. Currently, there are 15 artists living and working at Sailboat Bend Artist Lofts. Niki Lopez has lived there since it opened.
“There are not many original residents here anymore, but I’m one of the first artists who moved here and one of the primary ones who came together in creating what we now have as The 1310 Gallery,” she says. Lopez, 49, says when she moved into Sailboat Bend Artist Lofts in 2008, rent was $700 a month. She is currently paying $1,300 for a 1240 square foot, two bedroom loft apartment.
Artspace opened up a lot of opportunities for local artists to prosper for years to come, according to Lopez.
“Artspace carefully chooses its locations because they understand there’s a correlation between artists moving into a neighborhood, and then in 20 years, the neighborhood often ends up getting gentrified, and those artists get priced out. But by creating this space with artists in mind, it culminated in an environment where artists can flourish,” says Lopez, about the non-profit real estate developer, based in Minneapolis.
Today, this artist-run community continues to serve as a reliable space for various kinds of creatives to hone their crafts. Lopez, in particular, has grown as a visual artist with a focus on mixed media, became a founding member of an all-female film team, 1310 Bandits Collective, founded her graphic design company Niki Lopez Creative, and started her non-profit What’s Your Elephant.
The arts and educational organization founded by Lopez is dedicated to bringing awareness to under-addressed topics such as gender and LGBTQ+ matters, discrimination, mental health, abuse, and social justice. In addition to focusing on their crafts as artists, Sailboat Bend is also unique in that it encourages collaboration among the artists who live there.
“We have a shared gallery space, 1310 Gallery, and we can come together as a collective and figure out what we want to do with it. So, we have a system where at the end of the year, we take votes on which artist will curate and produce their own art show each month that is open to the public,” says Lopez.
Each year, they produce 70-plus shows, including resident artist-curated shows as well as outside artists’ exhibits in the 1310 Gallery. One resident visual artist who has resided at Sailboat Bend for 10 years, Angela Yang, put on her first show as a curator this past October entitled “In the Dark.”
“I have done a lot of joint curatorial work in the past, but this was my first solo curation of an exhibit, and I do not think that I would have this opportunity at my fingertips in any other situation. So, I’m extremely grateful that our space offers wonderful opportunities like this,” says Yang.
Yang, 42, similar to many of her fellow resident artists, also enjoys living with a variety of other creative people because it offers many opportunities to collaborate and bounce ideas off of one another, she said. “We have so many different types of artists here, so you can always ask people about what medium they’re working in and get tips and advice. It’s fantastic,” she says.
Another benefit to living in a residence is that the lofts double as studios for the artists, which is a perfect setup for photographer and 13-year Sailboat Bend resident Jeremiah Jenner.
“Before moving here, I used to live in Coral Springs in a tiny one-bedroom apartment where I was also trying to work which was difficult. But when I found out about Sailboat Bend, I knew I had to live here. Normally, as an artist, you have to rent both an apartment and a studio but here it’s like a buy one, get one free deal,” says Jenner.
Now, Jenner, 60, has utilized his space to the fullest by using it as his home, a photography studio, and a gallery, which has simultaneously made it easier for him to focus on other artistic endeavors outside of Sailboat Bend.
“I have been a photography instructor for Broward County Public Schools since 2009 and also teach at the City of Sunrise Senior Center and the Vero Beach Museum of Art. So, to be able to balance working at those jobs with working on personal projects in my own dedicated studio space at home is phenomenal,” he says.
While living at Sailboat Bend, Jenner received two Creative Investment Program grants and one Artist Support grant from the Broward County Cultural Division. His ability to flourish creatively in the last few years, however, he credits to living in such a creative and inspiring environment as this one, he said.
“It’s been amazing living with like-minded artists. We’re on the same page, understand each other, collaborate, and support each other, which is great. Also, the amazing exhibition opportunities and an art career boost have been many of the other benefits of living here in the artist lofts,” says Jenner.
