Artist Funding Resources: Housing

Westbeth Artist Housing is a residential artists community in the West Village of Manhattan. It was one of the first conversions of an industrial building into artistic and residential use in the country. It has been the home to many artists who have gone on to have impressive careers. Beyond being a residential space, it also has gallery space, and regularly partners with organizations for free and low cost community programming.

While Westbeth is not currently accepting applications for housing, they are still an important artistic community providing support to New York City artists. 

Westbeth community also includes the Westbeth Gallery. The gallery is a nonprofit art space located within Westbeth Artist Housing. It is operated by the Westbeth Artists Residents Council, which is a volunteer organization elected by residents of Westbeth Artist Housing. The host shows by artists and curators outside of the Westbeth community, and post yearly calls for show submissions. More information on the gallery can be found here. 

The Artist Safe Haven Residency Program is designed to house and nurture international artists who are persecuted on the basis of political affiliations, ethnic, locational, religious, and/or gender-based persecution; forcibly displaced; artists who need a respite from dangerous situations; or artists from countries experiencing active, violent conflict. Westbeth Housing provides artists of all disciplines a residency for 6 months to two years, depending upon the requirements of the sponsoring program partners. If you think you are eligible for this kind of assistance, please visit the Artistic Freedom Initiative and apply for assistance.

ArtSpace is a nonprofit real estate development company that works nationally to create space that meets the needs of artists through the adaptive reuse of historic buildings and new construction. It began in Minnesota, but now oversees projects in multiple states across the country. Artists are able to get directly in touch with leasing agents about availabilities in specific buildings. 

Here is a list of all the buildings in New York State, including New York City, where Artspace manages buildings. To get more information about becoming a resident, you can get in touch with the email under "Residential Leases". 

ArtCondo is an artist collective/nonprofit aimed at helping artists in New York City purchase studio space, commerical spaces, and live/work lofts in New York City. They work collectively with neighbors and local residents where they purchase their buildings. You can connect with them on their listserv.