We were lucky to catch up with Michael Meyer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
As Owner and Founder of Squirrel Haus Arts, Mpls, we host Visual and Performance artists throughout the year. When I opened our space I purposly did so with no marketing plan or budget in place. My desire was to see where the need of artists took us. There was no guarantee it would develop. Out of the box we were booked solid with Gallery shows, pop-up markets, theatrical rehearsals, non-profit and community groups. Word spread organicaly throughout our community. Our low rental rates created opportuinities for those who otherwise could not afford to display their talents. Word of mouth led LBGTQIA+2 artists to meet with us and eventually stage events. This new relationship was originally about trust as they were often censored, charged premium prices, discriminated against. Word spread to the Queer community and soon we were hosting many of their events. Word of mouth continued to the Latinx arts community and in addition to hosting their events we also serve as central location to a local Latinx arts organization, Serpentina Arts. Opening our space to these various groups has been rewarding. As a straight person it opened my eyes to the discrimination and censorship these groups endure. It took while to develop their trust but now these groups make up a majority of our clients
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I retired from a 43 year career in the record business. My specialty was in marketing and distribution. There were so many things to love about my career but my favorite was working with recording artists, managers, record labels to help them set a path to the goal at hand. I represented many artists from labels such as Motown (Wonder, Rick James, Commodores, etc), Chrysalis (Blondie, Pat Benatar, Huey Lewis, etc), Arista (Manilow, Whitney Houston, etc), Boardwalk (Kiss, Donna Summer, etc) and many jazz and blues labels. Towards the end of my career I worked with international record companies and artist such as DJ Testo, Sasha, etc. Whether working a superstar, developing artist, or, a jazz act where 100 in the crowd was important as the 75,000 that would fill a soccer field 3 days in a row for a DJ. I like to feel I have brought my skills to Squirrel Haus Arts to help artists, makers, non-profit groups along the way whether through coaching or simply providing them an amazing safe building at a low cost, to develop their work.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Our goal and mission is simple. Provide a safe, affordable creative flexible space for visual and performance artists. We support artists, authors, performers, theater rehearsal and performance as well as non-profits and community organizations. We take zero amount of their door or merchandise sales. We do not operate for profit. If we break even at end of year with building expense, taxes, insurance, etc it’s a good year.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
As a Gallery owner helping artist and performance artists display their work or hone their craft. Most creative types are locked out of showing in Galleries due to cost and acceptance. Same with Performance artists. We offer them opportunity at a price (or free) they can afford. Acceptance as a “safe” venue by B.I.P.P.O.C., Latinx and LGBTQIA2S+ artist and performers is especially rewarding. We are privately owned and own our building. We opted not to become a non-profit. This allow us the freedom to allow those not allowed at public or non-profit venues the freedom of expression.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.squirrelhausarts.com
- Instagram: squirrel_haus-arts
- Facebook: Squirrel Haus Arts
Image Credits
Michael “Bear” Meyer