I'm starting this fundraiser to help open an after-hours, alcohol-free public art space in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This idea has been important to me for a while, and after recently reading a book, I finally felt motivated to begin. Some ideas wait politely. This one did not.

I keep coming back to a simple question: do we need something better to do at night than go to a bar or stay home? I think we do. I want to create a place where people can come create, display, perform, and present their work, or simply be around creativity without needing to call themselves an artist first.

This art space is for local artists, of course, but not only for the people who already feel confident claiming that word. It's also for curious people, creative people, experimental people, and people who say, "I'm not an artist," right before making something wonderful, strange, beautiful, unfinished, or all four at once. The point is not perfection. The point is having a safe place to make things on your own or with others.

Right now, the first practical step is raising enough to pay for a one-year lease for the art space. That first year would make it possible to open the doors and begin building a welcoming after-hours space in Grand Rapids where people can gather and make something cool instead of choosing between a bar stool and the living room couch.

If this idea speaks to you, please consider donating or sharing this fundraiser. Your support can help create an alcohol-free art space for local artists and for people who never thought of themselves as artists at all. I'd love to help make room for both.