Meet Sarah Huang: A Fourth-Year Resident Artist at Delray Beach Arts Warehouse
Sarah Huang is one of our fourth-year resident artists at the Delray Beach Arts Warehouse.
After working out of her living room for a long time, in 2021, she searched for a space that fit her creative needs and allowed her to work among other artists. After applying, she acquired studio 10B.
How the Arts Warehouse Fosters Artist Connections and Collaboration
“I would say the most beneficial components of the program are really the way that the artists get to connect with each other,” Sarah explained. “The camaraderie here and the friendships that we’ve made here, even just in this program, has been pretty exciting.”
When Sarah first came to the Arts Warehouse, she specialized in painting and drawing, but over her time in the space, she shifted her focus to Multidisciplinary installation art.
How the Arts Warehouse Supports Artists
“I filed for my LLC at the beginning of 2021, And when I came to the Arts Warehouse to apply and put my business plan together, I felt like that really helped manifest and elevate the goals for not only just my artistic practice and my career, but, how do I treat it as a business,” Sarah said.
The CRA offers resident artists subsidized space. If accepted to the Resident Artist Programs, artists are able to stay for a minimum of 1 year up to 4 year time period. The program aims to assist artists with low rent costs, acknowledging artists as a small business. Arts Warehouse, located on Artist Alley in the Pineapple Grove district, opened in late 2017 after major construction and a new vision for the warehouse space by the Delray Beach CRA. Arts Warehouse offers rotating art exhibitions in three gallery spaces, monthly art workshops, and special event programming.
“I mean, having a subsidized space, there’s nothing like it, I would say, in the area,” Sarah said. “This really made it a lot more accessible, especially for us that are coming in as emerging artists who are, you know, less than ten years in their practice and still exploring the things that they want to do for their career.”
Measuring Artistic Growth and Business Goals
The artist will meet with Grace, the CRA’s Program Director who runs the Arts Warehouse for an annual meeting to discuss their business goals and whether an renewed lease term would be of value for the artist. The subsidized rent allows artists to have an area for their passions and bring to life their artistic goals.
“You know, it’s really hard to say what my biggest accomplishment as a resident artist has been, because I feel like every year we’re measuring our wins through our business plan,” Sarah said. “We have a set date that we meet with Grace to reevaluate and catch up and see everything that we’ve done over the one year and if it makes sense to renew. Every year, I feel like I’ve had a different win from my experiences here.”
The Arts Warehouse encourages community growth and empowerment by engaging local artists, residents, and community members.
“When I started here at Arts Warehouse, and I started getting more involved in workshops and local community things, I have found a real passion for teaching,” Sarah said. “My goal is to apply to FAU. I went there for my undergrad and applied to their MFA program because now that I found that teaching has been my rediscovered passion through Arts Warehouse and through my time here, I think that’s just a natural progression in what I plan to do for my career.”
Join the Arts Warehouse Community: First Friday Art Walk and More
To learn more about the resident artist program, visit artswarehouse.org or join us for our first Friday art walk, which takes place at the beginning of every month. The Arts Warehouse is free and open to the public Wednesday through Saturday, weekly.
“What I would say to aspiring artists in the area, you know, I have this conversation a lot with various artists that come through here, and I can’t recommend it enough,” Sarah shared. “Establishing yourself here, connecting with the staff, connecting with the artists really can take you a long way because I’ve learned that it really is the people here that make the experience what it is.”
