Firm： DRAW Architecture + Urban Design

Type： Commercial › Exhibition Center Retail Showroom Cultural › Gallery Educational › Other

YEAR： 2012

Previously a neglected 1940’s Brownfield site, MyARTS East was transformed into an after school arts training center and gallery space operated by the Prosecutor’s Office of Jackson County, Missouri.

Six years after launching the first facility in 2006, MyARTS East opened as part of the Prosecutor’s Art Initiative through the Anti-Drug Unit. This 16,700 square foot, barrel vaulted space was transformed for a budget of $55/square feet and was specifically designed to meet the creative needs of the Young Artists of Eastern Jackson County -- providing a safe haven for at-risk teens where they explore and express their creative abilities while having positive effects on academic achievement and social growth.

Reflecting the center’s diverse programming, an open-studio floor plan was created to maximize space around a centralized gallery with moveable walls further expanding the flexibility of use. Nodes of student activity were created via versatile “pods” for each apprenticeship discipline - including photography, painting, graphic design, screen printing and ceramics. Playfully arranged linear pendants, custom bookshelves, and a red pop-up photo dark room work to spark creativity. Artist’s completed works can be displayed and available for sale within a storefront retail space, while a gallery in the entry provides an area to showcase revolving works. Just a block from historic Independence Square, the building’s location provides the public an opportunity to view artists at work and the possibility to interact and share in the future of this exciting program.

This historic restoration of an existing masonry structure included the replacement of mechanical and electrical systems as well as customized tenant finishes all within a budget of $990,000.