City to donate $250K to help with recovery of burned artists studio
Nearly two months after dozens of artists saw their work and gallery spaces burned away, the city of Houston offered a step toward recovery.
Mayor Sylvester Turner on Thursday announced that the city would donate $250,000 toward recovery efforts at the Winter Street Studios, which in December was destroyed, allegedly by an arsonist targeting one of the artists who worked there.
“I am so, so sorry for what happened.” Turner said. “To lose a lifetime’s worth of your artistry, hard work and livelihood is a hard pill to swallow, and the community and I will continue to rally around you as you move forward.”
The money was donated to the Houston Arts Alliance’s disaster recovery fund. While giving the check, Turner challenged other Houstonians to donate to recovery efforts and match the city’s donation.
“When we have faced tragedies in all different walks in our lives, this city has always responded,” Turner said. “These artists are Houstonians, and they are valued members of our city and our community. We want their work to be demonstrated and shown and showcased.”
The fire that destroyed the studio was set in the early hours of Dec. 20, while the building was empty. The fire was believed to be set by a man who previously worked at a photography studio in the building. The fire destroyed several studios and galleries near the photography studio and caused smoke and soot damage throughout the building, officials said.
The damage wrought on artists was estimated to be around $2 million and affected more than dozens of people who worked in or displayed their art in the building. As of Thursday, 64 artists had applied for relief from the fund, Turner said.
The fire also caused structural damage to the building that will take up to nine months to repair, said Jon Deal, one of the co-owners of the building.
“The heat of the fire actually buckled the concrete,” Deal said. He said sections of the building, which was constructed in the 1920s, had been used as a factory, a warehouse and an underground art studio before he purchased it in 2004.
Standing in the stripped-bare space in the second floor of the studio, Deal said any artists who were displaced by the fire would be able to return once the building reopened, at the same rate they paid before the fire.
Holly Nowak, a watercolor painter whose studio once stood across from the firebombed photography studio, said she intended to return. Nowak said she was grateful for the city’s donation and to the Arts Alliance, which created its disaster recovery fund after Hurricane Harvey. Nowak said she lost all of her materials and her artwork in the fire.
“I’m just trying to start over and create an even better body of work,” Nowak said. “We’re starting from scratch and trying to elevate everything we do.”