Hi! I’m Shana, and I’m starting this fundraiser to help bring Dream Commons to life. Like other working parent-artists, I balance work, childcare, and the constant demands of keeping my household together. My days are filled with meetings, spreadsheets, meals, messes, meltdowns, and trying to hold everything together for everyone else. In the rare moments I manage to carve out time for my own creative practice, it can still feel impossible to even begin. I’m often too worried about my kids getting into toxic materials, or too mentally stretched to enter the kind of headspace that making meaningful art requires. What I miss most is not just the time, but the access to a creative space and community where inspiration can grow, where ideas can be shared in real time, and where making art feels possible again.

That is why I am building Dream Commons: a collectively run maker-space, studio space, and co-working space rooted in community. My vision is for a space that is available to makers of all kind, including those that have never thought a dedicated workspace would be within reach in NYC.

Your support will help cover the startup costs needed to turn this dream into a reality, including space buildout fees, equipment, furniture, and community/studio space initial rent/broker fees.

If this vision speaks to you, I’m asking for your help. Please consider contributing and joining Dream Commons as a maker, a supporter, or both. With your support, we can collectively create a commons where all of us can dream, make, and build the futures we want to live in.