Safer DIY Spaces

Who We Are

The Santa Fe Art Colony Tenants Association is a collective of the Art Colony’s artist residents, united to support the preservation and permanent affordability of this historic artist live-work property in Downtown Los Angeles.

For over 30 years, the Santa Fe Art Colony has played a critical role in shaping LA’s cultural landscape. Established in 1986 with public funding, it is LA’s only rent-restricted Artist-in-Residence complex. Its historic brick factory buildings house around 72 intergenerational and ethnically diverse fine artists (painters, sculptors, etc.). Annual Open Studios have attracted tens of thousands of visitors — a beloved tradition that provides continuous outreach and education to the public.


Our Fight

The SFAC Tenants Association is fighting to save the Art Colony — a vital live/work community in DTLA. The new owner, Florida-based Fifteen Group, more than doubled the rents and initiated eviction proceedings for 21 studios that paid the rental amount prescribed by the California State Rent Cap law that went into effect Jan. 1, 2020. The Tenants Association has boldly made a purchase bid — its right under California’s Affordable Housing Preservation Law — to keep rents affordable and preserve this important cultural institution for current and future artists. Unfortunately, Fifteen Group has not engaged in negotiations regarding this purchase offer. The SFAC Tenants Association has filed a lawsuit against the 15 Group to enforce the provisions of the state Affordable Housing Preservation Law which they have consistently disregarded.
We need to raise $75,000 to cover the costs of our fight, such as legal fees and the hiring of critical personnel to support the Tenants Association through this crucial, final stage of our campaign. If you believe in the arts, in the impact that artists make in our community and in preserving affordable housing in Los Angeles, please support us by donating to our cause and sharing this appeal with your network. Every penny will help!

 
Artists’ Last Stand

The last large group of artists left in LA’s Arts District is hanging on by a thread. Over the last decade, throughout the Arts District — a once-thriving community of 1,800 fine artists — this community has been virtually eliminated by catastrophic rent increases. There are almost no artists left.  SFAC represents the “artists’ last stand.”

Does the City really need more luxury lofts in the middle of a housing crisis, at the cost of destroying an irreplaceable cultural institution? No! Do we need affordable live/work spaces for artists of modest means? Yes!


Historic-Cultural Monument status granted to Santa Fe Art Colony

L.A.'s City Council officially named Santa Fe Art Colony as a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) on February 4, 2020. The Conservancy nominated the site for HCM designation in June 2019. Thank you to everyone who attended meetings and wrote letters to voice support for this designation! This affirms the value of artist live/work communities and the cultural importance of working fine artists. 


SFAC is important as a precedent and a model for the future. Created with public dollars, it expresses LA’s commitment to providing affordable artist housing for the good of the City. Most LA artists struggle financially, but their work feeds and supports a huge economic engine. SFAC is a significant part of LA’s artistic legacy and is firmly placed in the history of Los Angeles as an important cultural incubator. It has contributed to the renaissance of DTLA and the current prestige of our city worldwide.

Donate today!

We are asking our community at large for your support. Your donation will have an immediate impact. Please give and share this page widely with your network to help us #saveSFAC! Thanks to our nonprofit partnership with Safer DIY Spaces (our fiscal receiver), your donation to our crowdfunding campaign is completely tax-deductible. Important: when using our donor link, please indicate that your donation is for SFAC. 

The First 14 (Go Fund Me Donors) at $250/Each Qualify for a One-of-a-Kind Artwork

As a THANK-YOU to our community of donors, SFAC artists (Bill Neal, Don Lewis, Jason Cozens, Jayme Odgers and Trine Churchill) have graciously donated 14 artworks  produced at El Nopál Press by Master Printer Francesco Siqueiros, for the first donors to give $250 or more (each print is valued at $300)!  *Artworks must be picked up in person.*

How much money is needed?

We need to raise $75,000 through 2020 to support our fight to #saveSFAC!


How will your donations be used?

●      Work being done on our behalf by Safer DIY Spaces, a nonprofit that assists artist communities to secure long-term stability by locating affordable housing purchase partners and consulting on public and political outreach.

●      Legal fees for purchase negotiation and application for IRS tax-exempt status.

●      Public relations, political organizer/outreach assistance and related expenses.


Stay Connected, Share Our Story!

Please follow us and share our stories on Facebook @santafeartcolony , [email redacted]a  and Twitter @saveSFAC  and use the hashtag #saveSFAC to support our cause.  To stay in the loop, please subscribe to our newsletter HERE .