Design
Neighborhood Revitalization Tools: Band Saw, Drill Press, Welding Helmet
Empty industrial spaces get a second life as innovative art studios
Darla Jackson is a woman who can’t pass up a good deal on a band saw - or a drill press, or a welding set, for that matter. The collection of heavy machinery that she and her husband, Justin Grant, use to fabricate sculptures out of clay, plaster, metal and wood has grown so large that they can’t set all of it up at the same time.
That will change in January when Jackson and Grant move into a 7,500 square foot industrial space in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood and begin work on their new business, the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym. Like a fitness club, they plan to offer up their equipment and workspace to artists who buy memberships.