Richmond storage space not just for ‘stuff.’ It’s a haven for arts, crafts, cooking

Drive down Maine Avenue in Richmond’s Santa Fe neighborhood and you’ll see art pieces reminiscent of a certain playa festival.

That’s because Bridge Storage and Artspace was originally partly inspired by Burning Man culture — “or something,” said Operations Manager Elishes Cavness.

And, as its name suggests, it originally opened as a self-storage site in 1993.

BridgeSpace continues to offer climate-controlled storage in 762 units, but since 2011 it has redeveloped 5,000 square feet of storage units into studios where 28 artists can work.

“I’m always surprised at how many people recognize it as an art space,” said bookmaking artist Joni Bissell, who has a 2,000-pound printing press in her storage unit.

In addition to standard storage units and artist studios), BridgeSpace houses a carpentry studio and commercial kitchen.

Vibe Bistro owner Free Brown and Dave Friedrich, owner of Pickles and Smoke, a barbecue pop-up, use the kitchen, which can be rented for $25 an hour, Cavness said.

“Some of our businesses rely on Bridge to exist,” Brown said. “If the kitchen didn’t exist, my food hall couldn’t exist.”

The studios also provide networking opportunities between artists of all mediums, said Brown, who displays art at Vibe Bistro, which is on Macdonald Avenue in downtown Richmond.

“There’s this webbing that happens much like a spider web,” she said. “It may have started [at BridgeSpace], but now the relationship is somewhere else.”

Amy Lott, a woodworking artist who uses the shared carpentry studio, found BridgeSpace when she was helping a friend move their mattress into one of the site’s storage units.

“What is this spot?” she said. “It kind of felt like a fever dream.”

Now, she seeks advice from other artists, she said, such as a cabinet maker and an upholsterer who work there, for questions such as determining price points. 

Self-storage units, emblematic of America’s consumerist culture, may appear at odds coexisting with more than two dozen artists  aiming to make something meaningful. But working at a storage facility has its benefits, Lott said.

“I built my studio [here], and I didn’t buy even a screw,” she said. “I even got flooring from somebody who was moving out.”

In addition to private studios, BridgeSpace serves as a community gathering place, Cavness said. Richmond’s Mayor, Eduardo Martinez and others were once sworn into office at BridgeSpace.

And a conference space was recently renovated into a dance hall for, Cavness suggested, “static dance.”

“Ecstatic dance?” Richmondside asked.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Cavness said.

Yet, for all its public offerings, the organization most prizes intentionally supporting the local  art community. 

“In order to have a good understanding of what it is we’re trying to do, you have to be able to understand artists and entrepreneurs,” he said. “You have to be a part of the community in order to serve it.”

“We came in here, and it was like Disneyland. It was going on,” painter Darrin Westmore told Richmondside. “All of these different artists from sheet metal to prints. I said, ‘One day, I hope I can be in a space like that.’ ”

You can see Westmore’s African-inspired art and the work of other artists at BridgeSpace and dozens of other locations during Richmond’s Open Studios event this weekend.