If you’ve ever walked down Canal Place in Mott Haven, you probably couldn’t help but notice the brick building with a graffiti-style design on the front of it. But it’s not quite the same as the cheap spray painted words found on the side of other urban buildings — it’s the sign telling you that inside is the Bronx Kreate Hub, a place where all forms of art are welcomed and admired.
The Bronx Kreate Hub is a coworking space for all kinds of artists in the area; painters, sculptors, designers, jewelry creators and more can rent out their studios. While rent in New York may be notoriously high compared to the rest of the country, the Bronx Kreate Hub offers affordable rent prices — some as low as $175 a month. All the studios come equipped with anything an artist may need, from Wi-Fi to slop sinks. There are also coworking spaces, lounges and conference rooms, plus the galleries where they host events.
On the Kreate Hub website, kreatehub.com, the company writes about how creative spaces improve the artists’ mental well-being by offering them the opportunity to collaborate and network.
Owner Dan Herdoon, a Bronx Economic Development Corporation board member, has opened Kreate Hub spaces in Nashville and Philadelphia to spread the benefits of his company to other areas of the country where many creatives live. One thing Nashville, Philadelphia and The Bronx have in common is that they all have artistic histories and continue to be places where creatives of all kinds gather. That is part of why the Kreate Hub is so beneficial in these locations — it not only allows artists to grow, but also gives everyone else in the community the opportunity to enjoy the art they create.
In her speech at the State of the Borough on Thursday, April 18, Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson said that “the Bronx is the blueprint” — and the Kreate Hub is proof of that. It thrived in the Bronx before making its way to other cities to have the same effect.
Jilleen Barrett is director of communications & marketing at the BXEDC.
