At the end of this month, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing will complete a move out of its Old Town Lansing offices. The council’s new home will be in the new MSU Federal Credit Union building on Abbot Road in downtown East Lansing.
The Arts Council supports artists and arts organizations in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton Counties.
WKAR’s Scott Pohl spoke with the Arts Council’s Executive Director Meghan Martin about the move.
Interview Highlights
On the move
Ever since the pandemic, we've been trying to get more out and about and meet people where they're at. You know, we're not a retail space. We're not just having people pop in. So, it didn't really make sense to keep this location here. We love Old Town, and we're still going to be coming back for festivals and meeting with the organizations that are here, but we just don't we don't have a presence here as much as this space deserves.
On Old Town's connection to the arts
I have always felt like the arts here in Old Town has thrived ever since Robert Busby kind of enlivened this space, and I know that there are people here that are holding that torch and keeping it burning, but we've had new galleries opening up here. The Old Town Commercial Association is amazing. They support the area with festivals and things that we'll come back for to visit.
On what the Council will continue to offer
I would like for us to be known as a regional resource, and our address isn't going to change that, but it is only going to open our mind to new possibilities and meet new artists. There are a lot of great things happening in East Lansing as well, and being into that neighborhood, I'm excited to see what new acquaintance we make with artists. I think one area that we have found over the years, or I have found over the years, is that there are a lot of pockets of individual artists that may have something that draws them together, but it's being able to bridge those pockets together that we are trying to do.
Interview Transcript
Scott Pohl: At the end of this month, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing will complete a move out of its Old Town Lansing offices. The council’s new home will be in the new MSU Federal Credit Union building on Abbot Road in downtown East Lansing.
The Arts Council supports artists and arts organizations in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties.
This week, we go Inside The Arts this week with the Arts Council’s Executive Director Meghan Martin.
Meghan Martin, welcome.
Meghan Martin: Thank you. I'm happy to be chatting with you today.
Pohl: So, why this move, and why now?
Martin: Honestly, the Arts Council, we've had a great success here, but ever since the pandemic, we've been trying to get more out and about and meet people where they're at. You know, we're not a retail space. We're not just having people pop in. So, it didn't really make sense to keep this location here. We love Old Town, and we're still going to be coming back for festivals and meeting with the organizations that are here, but we just don't we don't have a presence here as much as this space deserves.
We love Old Town, and we're still going to be coming back for festivals and meeting with the organizations that are here, but we just don't we don't have a presence here as much as this space deserves.
Pohl: Lansing and East Lansing have pockets of artistic activity. REO Town comes to mind as well, but people really think of Old Town as the center of arts activities. Any regrets about the vacuum this might be leaving here in Old Town Lansing?
Martin: Oh, great question. I have always felt like the arts here in Old Town has thrived ever since Robert Busby kind of enlivened this space, and I know that there are people here that are holding that torch and keeping it burning.
But we've had new galleries opening up here. The Old Town Commercial Association is amazing. They support the area with festivals and things that we'll come back for to visit, and I just feel like because we're a regional entity, we can't be so closely tied to one neighborhood in that region.
Pohl: We're talking to Meghan Martin of the Arts Council of Greater Lansing about their move from Old Town Lansing into the new MSUFCU building in downtown East Lansing. What have you been hearing from your neighbors here in Old Town?
Martin: I think that they are both saddened by our leaving, because we've made some great friends here, but also excited, because I think there's more opportunity for somebody like a retailer to come in here or a new voice to come in here as an office. I think people are just excited to see what it could become. And this is a really prime location.
One thing that we preach is if you're going to have spaces like this, you know, they should be livened up. There should be people here working and keeping it going and inviting people into a retail space or things like that in a thriving shopping district like this.
Pohl: Fill me in on the timeframe for the move, and what's the status of moving all your stuff to East Lansing? How's that going?
Martin: Well, I can say that if your 60-year-old organization is moving, there's a lot to sift through, but we have been considering this move for quite some time, and I will say that ever since 2020, we've been moving things a lot more digital, and we've been taking care to sift through our files. We've donated a lot to the historical society so that they capture our past for everybody to see.
I would like for us to be known as a regional resource, and our address isn't going to change that, but it is only going to open our mind to new possibilities and meet new artists.
Pohl: With regard to this move, what is your message to artists in this part of the state? What does it mean to them that you will be housed in East Lansing?
Martin: Well, I would like for us to be known as a regional resource, and our address isn't going to change that, but it is only going to open our mind to new possibilities and meet new artists.
There are a lot of great things happening in East Lansing as well, and being into that neighborhood, I'm excited to see what new acquaintance we make with artists. I think one area that we have found over the years, or I have found over the years, is that there are a lot of pockets of individual artists that may have something that draws them together, but it's being able to bridge those pockets together that we are trying to do.
Pohl: Megan Martin is executive director of the Arts Council of Greater Lansing. Good luck with the move.
Martin: Thank you so much. I'm looking forward to it.
Pohl: With Inside the Arts. I'm Scott Pohl.
The Arts Council of Greater Lansing is a financial supporter of WKAR.
