"Sad news regarding PiSquare Arts Building -
It is with great sadness that I make this announcement. At the last minute a counter bid was put in to lease this building derailing our hopes of providing a revitalized new home for the art walk in Pioneer Square - indefinitely.
After spending a year meeting with and gaining the support of city officials, financial investors, architects, property management advisers and the YMCA (in an effort to join their cause of providing a Pioneer Square based daycare with that of our mission); we had all we needed except the go-ahead from the owner, and this has come as a pretty big shock to those of us working on the project.
To everyone who's been involved in this attempt I would like to thank you for all of your effort, and to the rest of you interested in the project we appreciate having had your interest and support."
It is with great sadness that I make this announcement. At the last minute a counter bid was put in to lease this building derailing our hopes of providing a revitalized new home for the art walk in Pioneer Square - indefinitely.
After spending a year meeting with and gaining the support of city officials, financial investors, architects, property management advisers and the YMCA (in an effort to join their cause of providing a Pioneer Square based daycare with that of our mission); we had all we needed except the go-ahead from the owner, and this has come as a pretty big shock to those of us working on the project.
To everyone who's been involved in this attempt I would like to thank you for all of your effort, and to the rest of you interested in the project we appreciate having had your interest and support."
The idea behind the Pi2 Arts Building was to create a live/work community for the Pioneer Square artists displaced by the closure of the 619 Western Building last summer and to inspire artistic interaction and discourse with the public. This project would have been a huge step toward revitalising the Pioneer Square art scene, which has sadly diminished as a result of the upheaval this past year. Unfortunately, due to the timing of the counter bid, the creators of the Pi2 project might have irrevocably lost the financial support from the city necessary to pursue a new project, even if a similar building becomes available.
There's nothing I can say
that will adequately express what a bummer this is, both for the
disappointment of the tireless efforts of the Pi2 project crew and for the entire Pioneer
Square arts community. I'd like to think that an even
shinier opportunity will present itself and that funding will be there when it's
needed... But we're going to need a lot more than luck, happy thoughts, and pixie dust.
 |
| Pi2 Arts Building (RIP) |
Please keep the artists of Pioneer Square in your thoughts, and don't hesitate to speak up if you know of any potential art spaces! Despite this setback, we will persevere. Art is an unstoppable force - a necessary balance to the pervasive dullness of reality. Artists are the engineers of imagination and the creators of modern day myth. We're here to stay.
Support your local art scene!
~ BCDuncan
