Apprentice Creative Space

Apprentice Creative Space is a nonprofit third space in Dallas, serving communities at the intersection of literary arts, creative arts, and civic engagement. We foster connections among creatives, arts nonprofits, and audiences by providing affordable event and work space, with the goal of building a civically engaged artistic community in Dallas. Our physical location in Oak Cliff serves as the hub for a growing network of creatives and organizations, providing a safe and inclusive space for free expression and community building. After opening our doors in May 2024, we've hosted more than 250 events that have drawn more than 9,500 attendees, established over 40 partnerships with other nonprofit and community-based organizations, and developed a growing coworking membership of over 30 professional creatives and civic activists.

The Problem

Art and the artists who make it are essential to what makes a city vibrant. Artists do not merely create amusements and diversions—their work can shape places, preserve historical memory, and inspire civically engaged social movements. But artists are increasingly priced out of third spaces in cities like Dallas, where there is a significant gulf between the well-financed elite arts scene and the grassroots Do-It-Yourself artistic community. Our current environment lacks the sort of third spaces that allow local, civically engaged creative ecosystems to thrive.

The Solution

Apprentice Creative Space directly addresses the lack of creatively oriented third spaces through a sustainable nonprofit model that augments charitable donations with recurring earned revenue streams and grant funding. Our partnership-focused strategy is designed to ensure that we are collaborating rather than competing with other arts nonprofits in the Dallas area.

Our programs fall into 3 main categories.

Educational Workshops

We offer free educational workshops taught by established professionals, focused on creative writing, poetry, art, music, and more.

Community Events

We host free creative community events, including book clubs, art clubs, writing clubs, and creative mixers. We also host an annual community book fair and have partnered with multiple arts festivals, including Dallas Is Lit!, The Dallas Literary Festival, The Hay Forum, and the Oak Cliff Film Festival.

Coworking & Rentals

We offer subsidized coworking and event space for creatives in Dallas. Our memberships are more affordable than our competitors and serve a community that doesn’t always have the budget to access meeting space. Apprentice Creative Space currently serves as a home base for several arts and community nonprofits, including the Urban Arts Center, Four Palaces Publishing, the TeenWritersProject, and the Sunrise Movement.