Story updated 2:20 a.m.
When the owners of 1433 S. Shelby St. raised the rent on their tenant Art Sanctuary, the group knew that it would have to find a new space. The rent increase was 41% plus Art Sanctuary was required to give the owners, Frankie Steele, Brittany Baker, and father Charlie Baker, a $9,000 deposit, after 13 years of the group working and performing in the space. This was the latest in a series of demands the group has had to resolve with the owners.
Initially, Steele found and rented the space on Shelby St. and brought Frye in for a look.
“It’s right after I left the Alley,” Frye told Louisville Independent. “He had just lost his coworking space at the Ice House and was looking for a “make space.” He brought me in there as a possible partner, and I said ABSOLUTELY NOT. Then he talked me into coming back a few months later to see all the progress he had made. It was a lot. He’s a genius, and really good at a great many things. He had been there working his ass off, and it was possible to see real potential there. He changed my mind. I paid him back the money he had spent on the build-out so far, and he and Britany joined the board. It took years of HARD WORK from all of us to get it to what it is today.”
Steele told Frye that he wanted to partner with an arts organization in the space. Frye finally agreed, and the group moved into the space in about 2012.
The original plan to purchase the Shelby St. location was between Art Sanctuary founder and president Lisa Frye, her husband Shahn Rigsby, and Steele and Baker. That plan seemingly fell apart when Baker’s father became involved in the deal as an ‘investor,’ despite Frye and Rigsby having their part of the purchase price.
“We even went to the bank together,” Frye told Louisville Independent when asked about the original plans for the Shelby St. space. “We [Frye and Rigsby] had our down payment ready, and I was willing to sell my house to get more — if needed. They did not have their money, but we figured they would borrow from her dad. Instead, they decided to bypass us entirely with no discussion.”
Frye said that when she asked if there was another way to figure this out to protect the interests of the group, herself, and Rigsby in the purchase, she was ignored.
“Frankie ignored me, so I went to Britany. She set up a meeting at her parents’ house. This is when we found out that we had no say in what was happening. They had already decided, and her dad was in charge. He said that after the purchase, we could eventually buy shares. A 10% share was over the amount that we would need as our down payment. So, we could give them all of our money and still have absolutely zero decision-making power.”
Since then, the organization has operated as a tenant in the space they built together with Steele and Baker, and with the rent increase, realizes that a new venue must be in their future.
Art Sanctuary is a non-profit arts organization that was started in 2004 when Frye, Nancy Moise-Haws, Samantha McMahon, and I (for disclosure sake), in our effort to create a haven for local artists not ready or able to show in the major galleries in the city.
That idea led to several art soirees and discussions about what the future of the organization would look like, and the dream to own a space for the organization, including ideas to model it after organizations we were fans of, like AS220 in Providence, Rhode Island, a non-profit arts organization which blends performance, gallery, and bar/cafe.
Frye is the only remaining original member from those years and has worked with the organization’s board on making those dreams a reality, which included Steele and Baker, until they purchased the building.
While Art Sanctuary is still searching for a new space, Steele, Baker, along with her brother Judson Baker, and father have purchased the 130-year-old Highland United Methodist Church, where they intend to build an arts community, modeled after Art Sanctuary. According to the WDRB article, they got the confidence to replicate that model from the years spent with Art Sanctuary.
The church building, located at 1140 Cherokee Road, boasts a 4,200 sq. ft. sanctuary and a school building with over 10,000 sq. ft. of space.
Louisville Independent reached out to Steele and Baker in June for a comment about Art Sanctuary’s rent hike and search for a new space before the news broke of their recent property acquisition and plan.
Neither replied to the request for comment.
The news about the purchase and plans for the newly named Highland Art Center came as a shock to Art Sanctuary’s community, which feels the group is being pushed out with the appearance that Steele and the Bakers are seeking to replicate what Art Sanctuary has built.
In public posts, a few people expressed their distaste for the project that’s seen as aggression against the non-profit.
The public will have the final say, but the story is certainly deeper than the city getting a ‘new’ for-profit contribution to the arts scene or a family’s new business.
Art Sanctuary has a campaign to raise funds for a new space. Donations are being accepted. More information at art-sanctuary.org.
Update 3:32 p.m.: Baker responded in the comments under this story on Facebook.
In contrast to Baker’s statement about the property partners, the WDRB report lists the owners of the Cherokee property as Judson Baker, his life partner Nicole, Sister Britany Baker, her husband Frankie Steele, and father Charlie Baker, and for the Shelby St. property, Britany Baker, Frankie Steele, and Charlie Baker are listed as the owners.
