Studio Freelove Makes Practicing Art Accessible

In late September, members of the artist collective Studio Freelove shared their work with friends, family, and guests in a low-lit, colorful space in the South Loop. The open house, one of several organized this year, featured art on a white wall and members’ sketchbooks at work stations for guests to flip through. Meanwhile, members Diego Lucero and Hasani Cannon, both artists and musicians, performed rock, mariachi and pop music in the studio’s makeshift living room space. 

What separates Studio Freelove from other artist collectives is a focus on accessibility and a collaborative community where all artists work towards a common goal. 

Studio Freelove was established by Jae Valdez in February 2023, an artist from Dallas, Texas who moved to Chicago for DePaul’s Fine Arts program in 2020. As a transplant during the pandemic, she felt isolated from the Chicago artist community. She found spaces to meet and work with other artists but realized a lot of them required knowing someone or paying a fee. 

“I saved up my money, I could have gotten a private studio, I could have joined into some space,” said Valdez. “ But I hated that barrier that I saw, whether financial or knowing the right people barrier to be a part of those spaces, so even though I could have joined in, I wanted to find a way to change it.”

Valdez created Studio Freelove with a focus on accessibility. The studio offers three ways for artists to pay for the collective after being selected: a full pay model where artists pay $100 a month; a half model where artists pay $50 and work five volunteer hours per month; and a full volunteer model where artists work ten hours. There’s flexibility on top of that, as sometimes artists volunteer for fewer hours than they signed up for and pay the remainder in fees, or vice versa, according to Valdez.

Volunteer work is based on the artist’s skills and interest. Every artist is given one to several roles they are skilled in or have an interest in exploring. Some artists use their fine art skills to make murals for the studio while others use their writing skills to interview other artists and run the studio’s blog. 

“People try new things that they are maybe not comfortable with or explore things they are engaged with,” Valdez said. “It’s also a great opportunity to engage with the studio and come more acquainted with the space. Most of the time, projects you’ll be working on will be with another person, and so it is a good way to meet artists you might not be typically working with.”

South Side artist Erica Scott described the open house event as “really warm” and “successful.” For her, the open house was a way for artists to become more confident in themselves. 

“If you were a member there, I don’t want to speak for everyone, you kind of felt like a celebrity because some people would be like ‘I saw your sketchbook, it was so cool’, ” said Scott. “If you’re a lonely artist and you’re not a part of a bigger community, that type of stuff helps you, it really boosts you and it makes you try other events. It gives you confidence.”

The studio has over fifty members, of which the majority volunteer some hours and pay for the rest of membership as needed. 

All funds collected in the month either go towards the $2800 rent or committees where money is distributed across future projects and materials.  

Valdez pointed out that a future photography exhibit, for example, would receive more funds for material such as film. In addition to membership dues, the studio also runs fundraiser events, usually with $10 minimum donations. 

The studio’s approach has been important for Scott, who’s also a mother and has been a part of the studio since last October. She describes her artwork as horror with a “girl vibe”. It usually depicts monsters and portraits where the subject is distorted and melting in bright, glittery pink and purple hues. 

“I am a mom too, so for me it’s really important to have a space that I come into and work…,” Scott said. “I love having the studio, having access to it, to canvases, to paint and having access to materials that we otherwise wouldn’t incorporate in our practice.”

Cannon, who also joined last fall, said the studio provided a community and space to improve his work. He had his own exhibit, “Faces of Ansi,” hosted by Studio Freelove last April, which led to his work being featured in the “Home and Kodachrome Art Show” at Art Studio 928 in Oak Park. Cannon described his work as “investigations in identity specifically through my expression of my identity as a Black individual.” His artwork is usually focused on portraits, using markers and pencils and any material he can find, whether that’s cardboard, plastic wrappers or food packages. 

“It is an osmosis effect of being around other creatives, even just hearing people’s process, I get a little bit of ‘maybe I should incorporate this, maybe I should incorporate that’,” said Cannon. “But also just being in community and helping out with an event or just being present in an event, it keeps reinvigorating my creative spirit and makes me more adventurous to keep going  farther, farther towards new endeavors.”

The studio will be hosting their next event on Oct. 19, “Impressions N°2”, a sequel to one of their early shows that took place last October.

Any interested artists can apply to the studio through their website and can contact the studio for a tour.

Cesar Toscano graduated from Columbia Chicago with a B.A in Creative Writing and found love for journalism during his last year of college editing for the Columbia Chronicle. He is going to the University of Illinois Springfield this fall to continue studying journalism.