communication is moving!
In June we’ll begin transitioning our operations from Milwaukee Street to a suite within the Roundhouse Studios space at 1741 Commercial Ave. This space is filled with artists, and we are so excited to join the community!
In 2018, Communication was founded as an all-ages, sober, DIY arts and music nonprofit with a mission to cultivate stronger creative bonds in and beyond Madison. Since then, our all-volunteer team has strived to host arts programming and events that are accessible and COVID safe(r) for everyone in our community. And until now we’ve done so from a small building on Milwaukee Street, which has lent itself well to some programming efforts while also hindering some others as we’ve continued to grow.
This summer, as we celebrate our seventh anniversary, we’re excited to announce a move just up the street and into a space shared with the recently established Roundhouse Studios! Roundhouse Studios occupies the second floor of the Apex Property Management building at 1741 Commercial Avenue, just off of Sherman Avenue in the heart of the Eken Park neighborhood, and is home to 25 individual artist studios (and counting!). We’re thrilled to have our own standalone three-room suite, where we anticipate the proximity to other artists and creative happenings will offer even more opportunities for us to provide programming and access to creativity for people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities in the Madison area.
Our team is hard at work already creating a moving plan to ensure continuity for many of our current offerings in the Roundhouse building! Here’s a brief summary of what we anticipate this move may look like for our various programming areas. Of course, we are figuring it out as we go and things may change in coming months! We hope you can share in our excitement as we navigate big changes and take our time being intentional about showing up with our full hearts and energy at a new space.
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We currently host regular paint nights, sewing and craft spaces, collage studios, and zine workshops. We plan to continue to host these events from our suite at Roundhouse, as well as build out additional recurring and ad hoc studio events. As our team and community connections have grown, we anticipate being able to add even more art workshops and series within the space, and have plans to launch a community submission process for these programs in coming months!
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Live music and performances are a cornerstone of our programming today, and we anticipate continuing to offer a variety of live events at Roundhouse. In addition to our music programming and our monthly all-ages all-masked open mic, we hope to be able to expand programming to include dance, spoken word, theater, and film screening events in the suite.
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Communication continues to be the only organization in Madison offering risograph printing services. With this move, our Print Collective membership structure and risograph offerings are getting a revamp! Stay tuned to learn more.
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We plan to curate exhibitions and shows within our suite, in alignment with our mission to uplift artists with marginalized identities and break down barriers to the creative world. Rather than the fixed shop space we have today, with regular weekend open hours, in the new space we plan to host a smaller shop with curated items from artists and makers within our community. Furthermore, with our proximity to the Roundhouse Studios artist space, we are hoping to facilitate and participate in building-wide art walks, markets, and studio openings in the future. We will also be transitioning shop items to be available online.
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In addition to the arts programming outlined above, Communication continues to act as a gathering space for those in need. In the past this has meant acting as host for events such as girl scout troop meetings, grief circles, and private events (for an accessible rental fee). Communication also serves as a fiscal sponsor for a range of community groups in the Madison area, including Clean Air 608, Wisconsin Abortion Support Network (WASN), and Wisconsin Community Health Action. Our commitment to providing access to this space, and supporting these organizations, remains unchanged.
FAQs
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Communication will continue to require masks to be worn inside our suite at Roundhouse, in accordance with our mission to be accessible to all members of the community. While we cannot require or guarantee that masks will be worn by other visitors to the Roundhouse Studios, we see this as an opportunity to build community with the other artists and guests to the building such that they understand the importance of providing COVID safe(r) measures for all community events!
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To access the Communication suite at Roundhouse, visitors will enter via the front door and from there have the option to take an elevator or the stairs to the second floor. Within our suite, we’ll continue to prioritize ensuring there is enough space for mobility and access by all our guests.
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By car: there’s free parking available in a large lot that wraps around most of the building.
By bus: the building is on Commercial Avenue between Sherman (accessible via the D line) and Packers (accessible via the B line).
By bike: there is a bike rack at the front of the building.
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Thanks for asking! One huge way to support us is financially - moving is expensive! And we are covering the rent of 2 spaces for the summer to make it happen. An extra way to support our mission financially is by becoming a sustaining donor - regular gifts of any amount keep us moving forward with predictable cash flow each month.