Culturehouse Incorporated

CULTUREHOUSE IMPROVES LIVABILITY IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES BY TRANSFORMING UNUSED SPACES INTO VIBRANT SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

GENERAL OPERATIONS:BECAUSE WE HAVE A SMALL CORE TEAM THAT WORKS ACROSS PROGRAMS, WE GROUP ALL STAFF SALARIES INTO OUR "GENERAL OPERATIONS" CATEGORY, ALONG WITH GENERAL EXPENSES FOR THE ORGANIZATION THAT ARE USED ACROSS PROGRAMS SUCH AS SOFTWARE. WITH VERY LITTLE OVERHEAD, WE ARE ABLE TO SPEND OUR TIME WORKING DIRECTLY ON OUR PROGRAMS, WHERE WE GET TO ENGAGE DIRECTLY WITH OUR COMMUNITY. THIS PAST YEAR, OUR TEAM HAS COMPLETED 23 PROJECTS ACROSS OUR THREE PROGRAM AREAS AND SUPPORTED 258 VOLUNTEER HOURS. AT THE START OF 2021, WE HAD JUST TWO EMPLOYEES. OVER THE YEAR, WE HIRED A DESIGN LEAD AND A COMMUNITY LEAD, BRINGING OUR TEAM TO 4 PEOPLE BY THE END.

TEST KITCHEN:IN OUR TEST KITCHEN PROGRAM, WE DEVELOP PROTOTYPE INTERVENTIONS THAT BRING JOY AND PROMOTE URBAN LIVABILITY. WE TEST THEM IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND SCALE THEM INTO VIABLE PROJECTS. THE TEST KITCHEN PROGRAM ALSO INCLUDES EXPENSES FOR OUR HQ SPACE SUCH AS RENT AND UTILITIES. IN 2021, WE BUILT OUT OUR HQ SPACE INTO A FUNCTIONING MAKERSPACE TO SUPPORT OUR PROJECTS. WE ALSO LAUNCHED SEVERAL SMALL-SCALE PROJECTS TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AND TEST NEW WAYS OF COVID-SAFE GATHERING. IN MARCH, WE RAN AN EVENT CALLED X-STREET. DURING THE EVENT, WE LED OVER 40 PEOPLE THROUGH A 5 STOP URBAN SCAVENGER HUNT THROUGHOUT UNION SQUARE IN SOMERVILLE, BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER IN A COVID-SAFE MANNER. IN 2021, WE LAUNCHED CULTUREHOUSE KITS, FREE KITS THAT CONTAIN EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SAFELY GATHER OUTSIDE. KITS INCLUDED CHAIRS, BLANKETS, SMALL HEATERS, A PICNIC BLANKET, FACE MASKS, AND GAMES. THE 20 PEOPLE CHECKED THE KITS OUT IN 2021 WERE ABLE TO DO THEIR OWN PLACEMAKING--CREATING A SPACE TO GATHER WITH THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY OUTSIDE, NO MATTER THE WEATHER. IN SEPTEMBER, WE PARTICIPATED IN PARK(ING) DAY. WE TRANSFORMED A PARKING SPACE IN FRONT OF OUR OFFICE (HQ) INTO A MINI PARK AND INVITED PASSERS-BY TO SIT AND RELAX FOR A FEW MINUTES. IN 2021, WE ALSO PRODUCED 7 PUBLICATIONS AND ARTICLES ABOUT URBAN DESIGN.

COMMUNITY POP-UPS:IN OUR COMMUNITY POP-UPS PROGRAM WE WORK ALONGSIDE COMMUNITIES TO ACTIVATE VACANT PROPERTIES AND TRANSFORM THEM INTO COMMUNAL LIVING ROOMS, THIRD SPACES, AND HOSTS FOR REGULAR PROGRAMMING. THEY SERVE AS HUBS FOR ON-THE-GROUND RESEARCH TO DETERMINE LONG-TERM PLACEMAKING OPPORTUNITIES. IN 2021, WE WORKED WITH A COMMUNITY GROUP IN PEABODY, MA TO OPEN CULTUREHOUSE PEABODY--A POP-UP COMMUNITY SPACE OPEN DURING THE MONTH OF JUNE, 2021. HOSTED IN DOWNTOWN PEABODY, THE SPACE RECONNECTED NEIGHBORS AFTER COVID LOCKDOWNS EASED AND PROVIDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS AND CREATIVES TO SHARE THEIR WORK. TO FUND THE PROJECT, WE RAISED OVER $10,000 IN DONATIONS FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS. OVER THE 33 DAYS WE WERE OPEN, WE HOSTED 46 EVENTS AND HAD 440 VISITORS TO THE SPACE, 95% OF WHOM STAYED FOR OVER AN HOUR. THE SPACE ATTRACTED A DIVERSE AUDIENCE, WITH A 3X INCREASE IN BIPOC REPRESENTATION AS COMPARED TO AREA CENSUS DATA. WE ALSO SAW A 60% INCREASE IN VISITORS' POSITIVE ASSOCIATIONS WITH DOWNTOWN AFTER VISITING THE CULTUREHOUSE PEABODY POP-UP. INSPIRED BY OUR PROJECT, A LOCAL ORGNAIZATION IS WORKING ON CREATING A PERMANANT COMMUNITY SPACE IN PEABODY. A COMPLETE IMPACT REPORT ON THE PROJECT IS AVAILABLE AT CULTUREHOUSE.CC/PEABODY.

SPECIAL PROJECTS:IN OUR SPECIAL PROJECTS PROGRAM, WE LEVERAGE OUR PROVEN PLACEMAKING METHODOLOGY TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY PARTNERS IN BRINGING THEIR PROJECTS TO LIFE. WE OFFER A RANGE OF SERVICES, DRAWING FROM OUR PAST WORK AND TAILORED TO PROJECT NEEDS. IN 2021, WE WORKED WITH 9 LIBRARY BRANCHES IN BOSTON AND SOMERVILLE TO TRANSFORM UNUSED COURTYARDS INTO OUTDOOR WORK/LEARN SPACES. THESE SPACES OFFER WI-FI, SEATING, AND PROTECTION FROM SUN AND WIND. IN THE FALL OF 2021, WE UPTDATED A FEW BRANCHES TO PREPARE THE SPACE TO WORK IN THE WINTER. AS PART OF OUR SPECIAL PROJECTS PROGRAM, WE ALSO WORKED WITH UNION SQUARE MAIN STREETS TO TRANSFORM UNION SQUARE USING TEMPORARY TACTICAL URBANISM METHODS FOR THEIR ANNUAL FLUFF FESTIVAL. WE PAINTED MURALS ON THE GROUND AND SET UP A PLAY AREA FOR ALL AGES. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE VISITED THE FESTIVAL AND GOT TO USE THE ITEMS WE CREATED.