Located in downtown Raleigh in the historic Sanders Ford building, the Artspace facility was once the city’s livery and later Sanders Ford Car Dealership. Today this 30,000 square foot facility is home to over 30 artists working in a variety of media, along with three exhibition spaces, education space, a gift shop, and administrative offices. Artspace is one of the largest open studio environments in the country and the premier organization of its kind in North Carolina.

The concept of opening an art center and cultural corridor in downtown Raleigh originated from a group of community leaders who approached the City of Raleigh in 1980 with this vision. The Raleigh Arts Commission established a task force to explore the need and interest in a multipurpose art facility. This committee made 2 recommendations: 1) the Sanders Ford building as the best location for the art center and 2) the art center incorporate as a nonprofit organization.

Since 1986, Artspace has raised awareness of the arts by providing a unique environment where artists can collaborate, where the public can interact with working artists and experience firsthand the creative process, and where children and adults can learn to express their own creativity in classes and workshops.

Since its inception, Artspace has inspired more than 2 million visitors and served as the heart of Raleigh’s visual art community. Artspace offers more than 100,000 visitors annually over 30 challenging and award-winning exhibitions, interactive workshops to over 2,000 school-aged children each year, classes and workshops to over 3,000 youth and adults annually, and approximately 100 public events open to all in the community free of charge.