Spruill Center for the Arts to add 15 artist studios in Chamblee

Credit: (Courtesy of Spruill Center for the Arts)

Credit: (Courtesy of Spruill Center for the Arts)

The new studio spaces, targeted to open in June, will be housed in the former Chamblee City Hall on Peachtree Road in downtown Chamblee. Spruill Studios will feature 15 total studios — nine at approximately 200 square feet and six at 100 square feet for one-year leases. The 6,796-square-foot building built in 2002 will also include a small exhibition space open to the public that will feature work by studio artists. On March 9, Spruill will begin accepting artist applications for studio space, to be reviewed by a panel of art experts.

Initially, the studios will focus on visual artists, but Spruill Gallery director Shannon Morris and Spruill Center for the Visual Arts CEO Alan Mothner won’t rule out the possibility of one day opening up the studios to filmmakers, curators or other creatives.

“We have a three-year lease with the city for the space. So we’re looking for this to continue to grow and develop,” Mothner said. “And you know, a lot of it’s going to be driven by the response that we get from the artists and from the community and curators.”

Credit: (Courtesy of Spruill Center for the Arts)

Credit: (Courtesy of Spruill Center for the Arts)

The decision to create the studio space came out of a 2023 strategic plan, Mothner said. Several spaces — including some commercial buildings and a location near Spruill Gallery — were discussed as potential sites for Spruill Studios. But reusing Chamblee’s former City Hall building, which has gone unoccupied for years, ended up feeling just right especially when an economic partnership with the city of Chamblee sweetened the deal.

Chamblee is leasing the space to Spruill for $1 a year for three years with the chance to extend its lease. Renovations are being handled by Spruill from previous capitalization and supporter donations of $100,000, Mothner said.

“For us, it was just such a cost effective no-brainer right in the heart of downtown Chamblee,” Mothner explained.

Everything about the former City Hall checked the boxes, Mothner said: tall ceilings and lots of light; offices that could easily be converted into studios; spitting distance to restaurants and other amenities, including a 17-minute walk to MARTA; and a visible, public-facing street view that connects the studios to the community.

Credit: (Courtesy of Spruill Center for the Arts)

Credit: (Courtesy of Spruill Center for the Arts)

“Our current gallery is a fabulous space in an old 1800s home, but walkability and access is kind of an issue, Mothner said. “This being located right in the heart of this revitalized downtown Chamblee is was just ideal for us. It’s like just such a great convergence of arts and people and really everything we were looking for.”

For Morris, having all of these artists under one roof is yet another opportunity to create community. The gallery director said she was inspired by other Atlanta artist studio complexes including Atlanta Contemporary, Echo Contemporary Art and the Goat Farm art center, which Morris said was especially notable for the process it uses to vet creative projects. “That is likely going to be my model for the selection panel,” Morris said.

“I’ve always worked with artists,” said Morris, who will also oversee Spruill Studios. “And one thing I know about them is that they love collaboration, and they love being around other artists.”

Spruill Studios, said Morris, will meet a real need in the north metro communities of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee and Brookhaven, but also the larger metro area, for spaces where artists can work and gather.

“They want to have places to hold critiques,” Morris said. “They want to have studio spaces that they don’t have to drive all the way to south Atlanta for, and so we want to make that happen.”