A community center for arts organizations and groups

As profiled this week, there are workplace-community centers for creatives and high-tech entrepreneurs, but what about arts groups?

That’s why Flashpoint (a fitting name) in Washington DC was created.

Like C3 and ATI, Flashpoint was created as a physical place and implementation of a larger organization’s vision, in this case, DC’s Cultural Development Corporation (CuDC), a nonprofit dedicated to developing affordable spaces for artists and cultural organizations.  With a contemporary art gallery, 75-seat theatre lab, dance studio, office space for seven one-year-term cultural organizations, and conference room, Flashpoint does just that in the heart of Washington DC.

However, economic development entities take note - to have the kind of expansive community gathering space and full slate of events that C3 has - the very amenities that the greater creative/artist/entrepreneur community long for - it would be advantageous to take a page out of the artist handbook and locate in a fringe neighborhood where the cost of space doesn’t end up costing you those very amenities.