Last year, Artist Jane Richlovsky presented a TEDx talk about how her studio eviction by Washington State’s Department of Transportation inspired her to rewrite the Artist vs. Gentrification story in two ways: In her paintings, she unpacked the mid-century version of the American Dream; and in her life she transformed the stereotypical image of the “starving artist in the garret “into the artist as business person who shares in the wealth they create.

Richlovsky and three other partners founded the company Good Arts LLC which recently purchased the historic Scheuerman Building in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. The renovated space will provide affordable artist studios, a commercial gallery and a retail craft store. Eventually, the new owners plan to restore the basement to its historic role as a performance space from 1972-1982, and as a jazz club during the 1940s.

“We believe that economic development should include the creative class as its beneficiary as well as its catalyst. To that end, we also foster connections between, and promote the interdependent prosperity of, artists and other neighborhood businesses and institutions. “