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The most limited resource in New York City is space, and many of us are willing to pay an arm and a leg just to have somewhere comfortable enough to lay down at night, let alone create beautiful works of art.
If you're an artist who lives in Bushwick or its vicinity, that might soon change: a brand new “makerspace”—a term used to refer to co-working spaces for artists who often work with large, hard to access equipment—is coming to the neighborhood, and memberships are actually relatively affordable.
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The brand new space, Brooklyn Spark, will open in mid-March at 75 Stewart Avenue near the Jefferson L stop and will offer space for local artists to work in. The membership will include access to hard-to-access equipment, including a table saw for woodworking, a kiln, a sewing machine and textile area, laser cutter, a 3D printer and more.
The space was opened by local artists who were having trouble finding places to create, and the project will be run by volunteers. They encourage people of all skill levels to become members, and they'll hire professionals to teach classes for newbies across disciplines like sewing, ceramics and more.
The space will be available 24/7 to its members, and they'll first have to go through a safety orientation class to make sure they're qualified to use the machines in the space. Once they go through that orientation, members will be able to use sign up sheets to use some of the larger equipment, but most of the equipment will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. "We want to make sure that the members have a good experience and tools available to them when they need them and don't have to wait hours and hours to use something," Amelie Oller, one of the artists behind the space, tells Time Out New York.
For that reason, the space will start with a smaller group of 60 or so members before opening the space to several more members after a few months.
"It's been such a cool experience to hear so many people who are interested in this and think it's a cool idea," Oller says. "I also work at a computer all day, so I like to go and do something else, and I'm glad others feel the same."
So if you, too, are ready to pick up a crafty skill, this is the perfect opportunity to do just that. Memberships are going for $165 per month, but will be discounted for early members for the first three months. You can join the waitlist to secure your spot here.