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September 27, 2004

Next: Art for all | Todd Bernard Founder and creative director, SPACE Gallery, Portland

By Taylor Smith
The September calendar of events at SPACE Gallery in Portland is a hyperactive listing of literary readings, photography exhibits, live music and political discussions. Mark Mothersbaugh, frontman of 80s art-rock band Devo, showed his traveling art exhibit "Beautiful Mutants" at SPACE early in the month. That show was followed by such disparate bookings as a hip-hop sound collagist, a discussion of the ivory-billed woodpecker and a locally produced docudrama about the 1692 Salem witch trials.

For many venues ˆ— whether rock clubs or galleries ˆ— a schizophrenic lineup wouldn't lend itself to building a core audience. In fact, the ephemeral nature of those venues often doesn't serve as a platform for stability at all. But thanks to a unique nonprofit model and a small but vigorous cadre of supporters, SPACE has found unlikely success as an organization in which commercial considerations often take a back seat to creative programming.

As a result, SPACE has become a well-loved part of Portland's social fabric ˆ— perhaps in part because it is so sorely needed. SPACE's eclectic programming also helps make Portland a more vibrant and interesting place to live ˆ— especially for the younger slice of the local population that politicians and pundits are so worried about losing.

Todd Bernard, 30, founded SPACE in 2002 as an alternative arts venue to serve both as an outlet for artists and musicians and as a venue for community members hungry for offbeat events that often can't be found in the city's typical venues. "[In Portland,] we have rock clubs that are just rock clubs and art galleries that represent commercial work, but there wasn't that much in between," he says. "With SPACE, we're trying to patch the fabric of the arts district."

Alternative arts organizations across New England, such as AS220 in Providence, R.I., the Berwick Research Institute in Roxbury, Mass., and Evos Arts in Lowell, Mass., helped Bernard establish a working framework for SPACE. The venues offered structural snapshots of how such organizations operated ˆ— from the formation of a board of directors to the size and scope of community involvement. The groups also gave Bernard and a loosely knit group of volunteers ideas on how SPACE could successfully balance a wide mix of visual and performing arts. "We looked at a bunch of these places for an armature of the possibilities," he says. "But we also wanted to be very aware of what's happening right here in Portland."

Bernard knew that local demand would play an integral part in dictating the direction that SPACE took during its first months of operation in the fall of 2002. Early offerings included events such as Latin dance classes and other workshops, mixed with live music and art exhibits. Bernard and company ˆ— including one paid staffer and more than a dozen volunteers ˆ— worked to figure out what the community was excited about, and what would draw people into the venue. "We wanted to see what people needed in their creative diet," he says. "That was our process of whittling away and discovering what SPACE was."

Bernard says he's comfortable with SPACE's mix of programming after two years of tinkering, but the organization still faces operational challenges ˆ— the biggest of which, and one that's common to most nonprofits, is financing. Roughly 70% of SPACE's $140,000 operating budget is generated through event ticket sales and concessions, though Bernard would like memberships and grant funding to eventually contribute a larger portion.

Recent membership-drive events at SPACE have helped double memberships to more than 100 people, and Bernard says the board of directors is carefully planning its fundraising strategy. During the first two years of operations, he says, the board of directors was cautious about applying for large-scale grants, primarily because they wanted to make sure SPACE's organizational structure would instill confidence in funders. "People are a little hesitant to jump on board with funding without seeing a long history," he says.

Despite its newcomer status, SPACE already has signed on strong allies in Maine's nonprofit and grantmaking world. The Unity Foundation, a Unity-based support organization for nonprofits, recently selected SPACE as one of a handful of arts organizations nationwide to receive marketing, branding and fundraising assistance. SPACE also is getting volunteer support from Chad Sclove, a graduate of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business who works at Common Good Ventures in Portland, to develop a comprehensive business plan.

And help continues to come from enthusiastic volunteers who don't wait to be asked for their assistance. Unusually engaged volunteers maintain the organization's website, for example, while others are working to create a group of gallery sitters who can answer visitors' questions about the artwork hanging in SPACE.

Despite the constant challenge of funding, Bernard, a native of the Lewiston-Auburn area, says organizations like SPACE can flourish in other parts of Maine. The key, however, is to let the region and the community dictate the organization's direction. "SPACE is successful in Portland because we didn't just come with a franchise idea," he says. "Instead, it grew organically through conversations with our community. It sounds elementary, but it's figuring out what the possibilities are by hearing what the town needs."

The September schedule at SPACE

09.03.04 | Fri Beautiful Mutants

09.04.04 | Sat Dance for Democracy with Scratch Compactors and The Hot Tarts

09.09.04 | Sat Artist Talk with David Hilliard

09.11.04 | Sat The Lunchbox Series presents Chris Demarest

09.13.04 | Mon Found Magazine with Davy Rothbart

09.16.04 | Thurs RJD2 with Diplo, Robsonic and Boondocks

09.17.04 | Fri Phil Hoose reads from The Race To Save the Lord God Bird

09.18.04 | Sat North East Indie Showcase

09.21.04 | Tues Let's Talk America

09.23.04 | Thurs Monster Road

09.24.04 | Fri Angioplasty Media Celebration

09.25.04 | Sat SPACE for KIDS

09.26.04 | Sun Witch Hunt

09.29.04 | Wed Q And Not U with La Mi Vida Violenta and The Hot Dogs

09.30.04 | Thurs Frog Eyes with Ocean and Casas

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