IN MOMENTS OF IMMENSE CHANGE AND UNCERTAINTY; WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU HOLD MOST DEAR?

This has been a big year for Studio Two Three. We celebrated our 10th anniversary with our largest auction to date, and invested our hearts and minds into a comprehensive strategic planning process with the incredible team at The Spark Mill. With their wisdom, facilitation and guidance, we engaged with over 500 community members, artists and organizational peers to reflect on our past, learn from our mistakes, and celebrate our moments of greatness. Together, we discovered the key values that make Studio Two Three what it is:

WE VALUE THE DIGNITY & HUMANITY OF ALL PEOPLE.

WE ARE ALL ARTISTS, NO MATTER HOW WE WORK & WHAT WE MAKE.

WE TRUST OURSELVES, WE TRUST EACH OTHER, AND WE TRUST OUR PROCESS– THERE ARE NO FAILURES, ONLY LESSONS.

WE ARE KIND. THE WORLD IS SMALL- OUR COMMUNITY IS EVEN SMALLER.

WE ARE ALL AT ONCE AMATEURS, PROFESSIONALS, STUDENTS, & TEACHERS.

WE VALUE SHARING: SPACE, TOOLS, CONVERSATIONS, IDEAS, TIME, & ENERGY.

WE VALUE STEALING: PROCESSES, TECHNIQUES, & INSPIRATION (BUT WE DON’T TAKE OTHER PEOPLE’S BELONGINGS.)

WE ARE CREATORS WORKING IN A WORLD THAT’S PRECIOUS & FINITE.

WE MAKE ART WITH OUR HANDS. (PRINT, FILM, LETTERPRESS ARE ALIVE & WELL!)

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WE OWN WHAT WE MAKE. 
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This process helped us to fully grasp what it is we hold most dear: OUR ARTIST COMMUNITY. We fundamentally believe in the power of artists to create meaningful personal, social and systemic change and we are committed to continuing to provide an inclusive, supportive and creative space for this work. SO, without further ado, we are sharing our new MISSION & VISION with you:

We’d hoped to announce this with a big celebration at our studio, but COVID-19 had other plans. Despite the uncertainty of this moment, this crisis has challenged us to step up to the ambition of our new mission and vision. Armed with these aspirations, we’ve come to work each day— albeit masked and gloved— to support our community in the only way we know: as artists.

OUR RECENT EFFORTS INCLUDE:

Convening our small and midsize arts community to address the COVID-19 crisis as a unified force! Together, we worked with CultureWorks, 1708 Gallery, Afrikana Film Festival, ART 180, Black American Artists Alliance of Richmond, Iridian Gallery, Oakwood Arts, and the Visual Arts Center of Richmond to launch an artist relief fund to provide immediate grants to artists most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. To date, this fund has provided over $50,000 in $500 grants to artists in our community.
Partnering with VCUArts, VCU’s DaVinci Center, the Community Foundation for Greater Richmond, U-FAB, and many other incredible community partners to launch a full-scale socially-distant mask making operation in our event space. For the last week 9 weeks we’ve been hosting volunteers and making masks for essential workers in Richmond. Thus far, we’ve produced and have distributed over 6,500 masks and we plan to keep going until we reach 10,000.
Creating a series of accessible and informational posts to keep our artist community up-to-date on important resources for staying safe, fiscally supported and housed through this crisis.
Leading a grassroots effort to build a coalition of small arts and cultural organizations across the south (more info on this to launch soon!)
Partnering with the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University (ICA) and the Valentine Museum to launch For as Long as Such Images are Needed a series of socially-distant micro-residencies at our studio, to be exhibited in the large windows of the ICA facing Belvedere. Our artists are in residence now and you can see the first panels installed this FRIDAY, May 22!

We’re here for the long haul and look forward to opening opening our doors open as soon as it’s safe. Until then, come visit us as a volunteer for mask making or take a stroll by the ICA to see the incredible work that our artist residents are making.