More Municipal Use Planned For Cultural Center

 HARWICH – More artists’ studios at the 204 Cultural Arts Municipal Building are likely to be converted to town offices.

 All leases at the building will expire on June 30 and the artists in the studios there will be required to apply for new three-year leases. But in last week’s select board meeting, it became clear that the town is planning to use some of those studio spaces – as many as six – as municipal offices.

In that session, John Bonanni, a poet who founded the Cape Cod Poetry Review and a teacher at Monomoy Regional High School, said he is being “displaced” from his studio. 

Bonanni said he understands the town needs staffing space, but he cited a lack of data upon which to base this decision, and an absence of thought given to the human impact. Bonanni did say he understands he will be able to apply for a new studio when the requests for proposals are available for the new studio licenses. 

 “He’s not out, he has a license agreement through June 30, " said Cultural Affairs Director Kara Mewhinney. “He, like everyone else in the building, needs to apply for a license agreement for July 1.”

There is a provision in the current lease that allows for the town to access space in the building for municipal purposes. Currently, Mewhinney said there are three municipal staff members who have been relocated to the building from the Albro House. The town, at this point, is weighing what additional space will be needed. 

Town staff is looking at the former school administration offices along the front of the building for municipal use, because those former offices are the most secure locations in the building, Mewhinney said. Bonanni is presently in one of those locations. 

Last fall, Jenna Powell and Conor Howard-Rose of Highpoint Vintage were evicted from the building to provide space for municipal use. The eviction notice read, “A determination [has been made] by the town of Harwich that the property is required for municipal purposes, such as future development, redevelopment, or public use, as permitted by the lease agreement. You are required to vacate the premises and remove all personal property by the termination date, Dec. 1, 2025.”

Mewhinney told The Chronicle it has yet to be determined what additional municipal space will be needed at the cultural center. There are three municipal spaces in the building, one occupied by Mewhinney, the room next to hers, and one in the former school administration section. 

There is no waiting list for people seeking studio space, though Mewhinney said there is a shortage of such studio space on Cape Cod.

 “We don’t hold a waiting list because of the request for proposals, everybody is open to the same process, " she said.

The use of the studios are for the creation of art, not retail operations, Mewhinney said. Retail is defined as selling goods directly, maintaining constant hours and maintaining an inventory. 

License eligibility is for individuals, creative businesses and nonprofits that meet the criteria. Nonprofits must serve the arts and culture purpose. Artists must be actively engaged in production and teaching in areas such as visual, performing, literary, film/cinema and digital arts, according to the license application. 

It is anticipated that room rentals will be increased by $25 a month with the new license, Mewhinney said.

Artists' works are primarily sold through galleries, vendor markets and blogs, Mewhinney said, though if someone comes into a studio during an open house and wants to purchase a creative work, that would be acceptable. 

As new licenses are awarded, one of the focuses is to have the artists more engaged with the community, balancing creation with education, Mewhinney said.

The license applications are still being drafted and Mewhinney said they should be ready to go by mid-March. She said legal counsel is going through the license agreement language now.. 

 “The legal review will clarify everything we need to clarify,” Mewhinney said. 

She said some of the information circulating in the public is inaccurate. Mewhinney said the artists know her door is always open and they can come in and ask questions “so they know where I’m coming from.”