Barrio Logan continues to grow as an artist’s community with more than 300 artists working in the area today.
Now, these artists have come together to form a network that they hope will protect their neighborhood from losing an identity that artists have been building for decades.
“Right now, it’s the hay day of artists. There are more artists here than ever before. We are enthusiastic to preserve that,” said Benjamin Nicholls of the Barrio Art Association.
And that preservation is now underway.
The Barrio Art Association was founded just four months ago as a hub for artists and a place to preserve the artistic culture in Barrio Logan from being overdeveloped.
“Artists come in, they make a neighborhood trendy, then the developers follow and artists get booted out. That’s not what we want here. We really need that critical mass of creativity and economic development to stay in the barrio,” said Nicholls.
There are now more than 100 different studios around the Barrio where artists are creating pieces and also getting inspiration from others.
“It’s hard for me to market myself but in a space like this it happens organically and you can develop connections that way,” said Monica Hui Hekman, MH Art and Design.
Doreen Mellen has been practicing ceramic art for 30 years and started working at the Glass Haus art studio just two years ago.
Doreen says creating an association for the artists with their interests in focus has been a positive environment for her latest creations.
“We all throw off one another and just being in a complex together, we inspire one another, “said Mellen.
The dozens of artists making their mark in Barrio Logan today say it’s all in thanks to the artists before them.
And the Barrio Art Association is working to keep this art tradition going.
If you are interested in attending Barrio Art Association events, visit their webpage here.
