You knew it had to happen. There are empty properties all around the "Rust Belt" part of the upper Midwest. Every now and then some enterprising person comes along and starts an incubator or small business in these spaces. Sometimes the mall or building owner even gives the space for free in order to keep the spaces 
full. Yesterday I was talking to Jeane Vogel in Crestwood, MO (outside St. Louis), who has a very successful arrangement with the managers of Crestwood Court. She opened ArtSpace a couple of years ago and it holds an artist gallery, art space for workshops, classes and lots more, increasing traffic to the mall and giving artists great studio space with access to shoppers.
Here's a great story that appeared in an online blog, DetroitMakeItHere.com, yesterday: Artists could soon overrun vacant corner at Nine and Woodward.
The gist of it is that two entrepreneurs are planning to take over the empty Old Navy store that sits in a prominent location on Woodward Avenue (Detroit's main drag) in Ferndale and offer space to artists for short time leases. It really sounds great. I lived in this neighborhood of Detroit for almost fifteen years and am a serious cheerleader for all the people who continue to strive to keep hope alive in the beleaguered city. The arts are alive, people love the arts and I'm sending best wishes to Chris and Tiffany Best with this new venture.
If you live near, don't overlook this opportunity.
