The Bumpkin Island Art Encampment will continue again this summer for its fourth year from Thursday July 29th through Monday August 2nd. We'll be sending out the call for proposals soon, in March.

A public meeting was held last night by the BRA with the developers and the community. There was strong community opposition to the two development projects of Lincoln Properties and Archon. This was due to the fact that the projects had hardly changed from their first presentations last March, as well as in the fact that there was a sentiment expressed that there is so little the developers are offering the community. The City asked the developers to bind together to create the relocations of artists, offering two-year leases, and the developers provided the space and the build-out costs. In exchange, their projects most likely will go forward, with variances granted  allowing them to add additional rooftop stories, infill lots, and reap substantial profit.

Studio Soto has made its case to the City and developers to be included in the relocation plans. Thanks to you and to the overwhelming response to the petition, we will be part of the relocation to 319 A Street rear, as long as there is space for us that does not supersede or supplant the relocating artists. There were 227 signatures on the petition and we want to thank all of you for your support. We know that you made a difference for us.

There are still two meetings of approval for the project at the BRA Board meeting this Thursday at 3pm, and at a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting yet to be scheduled later this month. To put this project in proper context would take at least the retracing of the past four years since Archon bought 17 buildings in the neighborhood. In the broader scheme the artists community has lost 300 hundred artists in the past ten years of the thirty that artists have been here. So Studio Soto remains waiting, along with 40 other artists willing to relocate their studios for two years. Decisions will be coming soon. Let's hope that if were we get a space we will be active and visible again, and continue working with those in the City, community and with developers who do have our long-term interests in mind. For a reporter's view of last night's meeting, here's an article from today's Boston Herald.

Last week we learned that the redevelopment projects of Archon on Melcher Street and Lincoln Properties on Summer St. will go before the BRA board on December 4th. Leading up to that, they have been given credit for offering relocation spaces currently in negotiation for the approximately 75 artists Archon proposes to displace, from three buildings to one. Lincoln Properties, for their part, is offering over half a million dollars in build-out costs, as their give-back to the community. So for these efforts the City is willing to hear their projects again, and more then likely grant them the variances they have sought to make their redevelopments very profitable, once again at the cost of the plan for the neighborhood and the preservation of the artists community. There is public meeting about these two projects on Monday, December first, 6:30 pm at 44 Thompson Place, in the first floor conference room.

It seems to Studio Soto that if Archon and Lincoln Properties are so involved in relocating all the artists now, then it should be time to include us as well. We are a part of the community, and are artist-run. We have also tried to negotiate with both developers over the past year.

Studio Soto is appealing to our community and subscriber's list to support our inclusion in the relocation negotiations. We have drawn up a petition that we are distributing electronically to our subscribers and by hand in the neighborhood. It is simple and reads as follows:

Petition for the Inclusion of Studio Soto in Relocation Negotiations

I am signing this to support Studio Soto’s inclusion in the current relocation negotiations taking place between the City, Archon/Goldman, and Lincoln Properties. Studio Soto (artist-run) has been without a space for one year, and has attempted to negotiate with both of these developers.  As an artist-relocation instance in its own right, the matter of Studio Soto’s relocation should be included in and settled with these developers before their projects are approved.

If you would like to e-sign this petition, please copy the text, paste it into an email and send it to mail@studiosoto.com by Sunday, November 30th. Thank you !

After May, later in July, we were informed that the Lincoln project was "dead in the water," and after over four months of negotiations we were left barren. As fall and Open Studios arrived in October, we had this to say in the Fort Point Open Studios brochure:

What happened to Studio Soto, the independent, artist-run, alternative space on the corner of Melcher and A Street,? Its name remains on the picture window glass of a building now empty of tenants. Last November, along with 50 artists and 20 creative businesses, it was forced to leave its home on Melcher St. The building’s owners, Archon/Goldman Properties, declined to offer lease extensions and evacuated those buildings, and they remain empty still today. In the meantime, developers like Archon/Goldman play ring-around-the-rosy  with those buildings once occupied, their unfulfilled plans, the City government, and displaced artists.

As part of a larger and longer trend, the population of artists has declined over the past ten years in Fort Point, and the last leased floors of artists rental studios in two more Archon/Goldman buildings will be gone after this November. The numbers cited total over 300 artists that have been displaced during that time. For several years Studio Soto had appeared to buck that with its presence and programming on Melcher Street. Our desire to remain in Fort Point now has been challenged by diminishing options and higher rents.

Since its departure, Studio Soto has been actively seeking a new home in Fort Point, and it has not been easy. Working with the City, local developers, and new owners on building or finding an affordable, long-term space is not a straightforward process. Over the past several months we have had a number of scenarios in play that have not come to fruition.

As we approach a new year, we are seeing the potential for programming in different sites in the neighborhood. We are also nurturing lasting partnerships in the community that could lead to bigger undertakings. Becoming a non-profit, 501 ( c ) 3 soon will help us develop new projects and extend our funding base of support. You can stay abreast of Studio Soto’s developments by visiting our website, www.studiosoto.com . There you can also join our mailing list for notices on all of our updates and activities. We look forward to being a part of the community again here with all of you and our audiences.

Studio Soto has received and is reviewing a Letter of Intent from Lincoln Property with regard to the proposed space that has been negotiated.