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Many people in New Orleans, especially our younger readers, are at least acquainted with the Artist Resource Kollective, or the ARK. This Faubourg Marigny institution serves as one of the city’s few venues for alternative music, art and theater.

Stage Area

The building at 511 Marigny Street, formerly an office and warehouse space for one of New Orleans’ now-extinct furniture retailers, is a weathered gem of urban reclamation and mixed use. In addition to housing artist studios and theater space, the ARK is home to the [Doing Something Project](http://www.doingsomethingproject.org/), the computer lab serving inner-city youth, a free, volunteer-run bike shop called Plan B, a public use darkroom and the soon-to-open Iron Rail Book Collective, a community lending library and newsstand. One of New Orleans’ classic neighborhood parades, the Krewe Du Vieux, has used the building as its staging area. The ARK also acts as one of the locations of a loose network of informal and inexpensive meeting space for progressive groups. Many home-grown attempts to change the world for the better have at least held a meeting or two at the ARK. This is a productive community space, offering “something for and against everybody,” to borrow a quote from another great community space, Zeitgeist Theater.

However, this weathered gem is just that - weathered. The building itself is in need of some basic repair and suffers from significant fire code violations. Last week, a tip to the Fire Marshall led to the cancellation of an ARK performance. The threat of a fire is something that should have all attention focused on it, especially since the aforementioned projects bring children into the space. This situation should be addressed by the owner of the building as quickly as possible.

Doing Something Computer Lab

ARK events and programs have received positive media coverage in the Times-Picayune, Gambit and other outlets in recent months, but unfortunately there are some in the neighborhood who do not support the activities at 511 Marigny. While the situation is sometimes portrayed as a battle between alternative culture and gentrification, we believe that most of the neighbors support the mission of the ARK and its various programs.

The vast majority of neighborhood residents with whom we have spoken support the spirit of mixed use community space, especially a space that does positive works with some of the most under-served members of our community - children from nearby neighborhoods who would have few wholesome activities in the area if not for the ARK. We prefer to think that the neighborhood (and the neighborhood association) wants to see the ARK thrive as a safe and well-maintained environment, and as a good neighbor.

To this end, we urge the neighbors and anyone in the city who supports the work of the ARK to help keep this space open and available to the community. There should be a timeline developed with the owner of the building, community stakeholders, ARK representatives and neighbors that will help the ARK return to service as quickly as possible. These rare, informal cultural spaces make our city unique, and are too precious to squander.

Photo/Darkroom Area

Participation is needed from anyone who can help the ARK staff develop a sustainable business plan, get all the required licenses, and publicize their events and programs. The only qualification needed is a desire to just plain get involved. To donate to or volunteer at the ARK, contact Kelly or Wes at 945-0252.

In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that both of the Principals of the Urban Conservancy are residents of the Faubourg Marigny, and both are on the Board of Directors for the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association (FMIA). The opinions expressed in this editorial represent only the opinions of The Urban Conservancy.

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