Northwest Arkansas

  • Aneesha was part of Artspace's team in 2018 on a yearlong feasibility study in Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, and Fayetteville with the Walton Family Foundation on the creation of artist housing.

    As part of that work, Aneesha led the creation of Creative Economy Asset Maps for all four communities. The data was based on past research and benchmarks from 2014, and in-person interviews, online research, Arts Market Survey responses, outreach to distinct cultural communities (Marshallese, Asian, Hispanic) and local stakeholder input. Through the 6-month effort, the maps visualized the enormous growth of the creative sector for each downtown.

    An outcome of this effort was that Aneesha connected the Arkansas Coalition of the Marshallese with the Northwest Arkansas Fashion Forum, culminating in a creative collaboration and the Marshallese fashion designers having a showcase runway show at NWA Fashion Week (pictured above).

    • Community Engagement

    • Arts and Culture District Planning

    • Land Use Planning

    • Facilitation

    • Feasibility Study

    • Market Survey/Study

    • Outreach to distinct communities

    • Facility Planning

new orleans, louisiana

  • Aneesha was part of a team that formed Artspace Immersion in 2017, a capacity-building program for arts and cultural organizations planning for new space. With a cohort-based approach, Immersion empowers arts leaders to make informed decisions about space through monthly e-learning workshops, in-person networking, and trademark resources.

    This cohort has taken place in Chicago, D.C., Memphis, Little Rock, Minneapolis, St. Paul, New Orleans and Detroit. Most recently Aneesha planned, coordinated, and facilitated "practicing your ask" a funding and communications workshop in New Orleans with the New Orleans cohort of ten organizations. In June 2023, Aneesha coordinated two days of tours, and speed networking with fifteen community leaders as a resource for our cohort. Read more about New Orleans Artspace Immersion here.

    • Project Management

    • Facilitation

    • Community Engagement

    • Outreach to Distinct Communities

    • Facility Planning

Pittsburgh, pennslyvania

  • Citywide Cultural Space Audit

    In 2020, Aneesha facilitated a convening with 28 small and mid-sized arts organizations at the Pittsburgh Glass Center to assess the city's cultural space needs. She developed a methodology that included:

    • A workshop with 28 organizations

    • Interviews with six arts and service organizations

    • SWOT analysis

    • Haves/Needs Matchmaking Exercise and Database

    • Creative Space Needs Questionnaire

    The report was intended to help guide the conversation locally around what spaces are needed and where spaces can be better utilized, and where funding should be prioritized.

    Pittsburgh Glass Center Capital Campaign Analysis
    Aneesha guided the Pittsburgh Glass Center through preparations for a major expansion and capital campaign. This involved conducting a SWOT analysis with board and staff, along with community input. The recommendations from this process were translated into actionable items to support PGC's growth and next phase.

    • Project Management

    • Action Plans

    • Facilitation

    • Facility Planning

las cruces, New mexico

Grand Junction, colorado

Detroit, michigan

  • Arts and Cultural District Planning - Advancing a Project Concept in Las Cruces, NM

    Based on the groundwork from the 2014 Arts and Cultural District Plan, Artspace was invited to study the advancement of a creative space concept. Aneesha led the coordination and facilitation with the cross-sector group of artists, the Community Foundation for Southern New Mexico, Dona Ana Arts Council, City of Las Cruces, Cruces Creatives, the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership, and Chase Bank. The work included a tour of Artspace's El Paso Roderick Lofts, and even a visit to Juarez, Mexico on personal time to better understand the Borderlands region. 

    Many of these groups had never worked together and Aneesha led the team to collaborate and communicate better. She also took time to meet the past author of the ACD Plan at the Las Cruces Museum to establish buy-in from the elders in the community to make sure this work had a lasting impact. We also engaged artists with the Piro and Tiwa Tribes and held a meeting specifically to discuss equity and diversity issues in the community.

    • Community Engagement

    • Arts/Cultural District Planning

    • Action Plan

    • Feasibility Study

    • Outreach to Distinct Communities

  • Aneesha led the consulting work at Artspace in Downtown Grand Junction, with Headwaters Housing Partners, and GJ Creates. They partnered to develop a Space to Create program in Grand Junction to create affordable housing and workspaces for artists working in Junction. This work included focus groups, a market survey and study, a workshop on space utilization in downtown grand junction with area nonprofits and creative businesses and a spectacular launch party for the Space to Create Initiative put on by DTGJ. She continues to be impressed with the local leadership in Grand Junction and their support for the creative economy. She also worked on the Space to Create Initiative in Grand Lake, Salida, and Carbondale. 

    • Community Engagement

    • Project Management

    • Feasibility Studies

    • Arts/Cultural District Planning

    • Action Plans

    • Market Survey/Studies

    • Facility Planning

  • In 2022, Aneesha worked with a cross-sector team, led by City of Detroit's Department of Arts, Culture, and Entrepreneurship (ACE), to study the feasibility of a mixed-use housing development for the creative sector. Site tours and studies revealed strong demand for artist housing and creative workspaces near downtown. Key goals for any future project included preserving affordability, supporting a diverse cultural community, sustaining creative businesses and nonprofits, and activating historic buildings.

    Artspace Detroit, currently in development, is repurposing an old fire station. Aneesha led focus groups, public meetings, and presentations during the project's feasibility stage and saw how eclectic, dedicated, and interconnected the city’s art scene was.

    • Community Engagement

    • Project Management

    • Affordable Housing

    • Facilitation

    • Feasibility Studies

    • Market Studies/Surveys

    • Facility Planning

st. paul, minnesota

  • In 2024, Aneesha facilitated the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Pig’s Eye Dump Task Force meetings while at Zan Associates. She briefed and brought in national guest speakers to address similar case studies in Chicago and Milwaukee.

    She also organized community outreach through a public tour, virtual and in-person meetings with key stakeholders, and pop-ups at community events. The task force is developing a plan to clean up and restore the 200-acre dump, located on Dakota homeland and a key site for bird migration, with stewardship from Friends of Pig’s Eye Park.

    • Project Management

    • Community Engagement

    • Facilitation

    • Outreach to Distinct Communities

St. Croix River Valley, minnesota

  • Valley Community Center is a new community and aquatic center initiative in Minnesota’s St. Croix Valley. This huge economic opportunity will supercharge Washington County as an asset to residents, as well as a regional destination. In 2025, Square Loop Planning partnered with Wendy Holmes Consulting to act as a facility coach for the VCC Team leading up to their fundraising efforts coming later this spring! We assisted with site evaluation, project concept refinement, talking points, comprehensive plan review, fundraising prospecting, and overall strategy and coordination. We’re excited to see the Valley Community Center come to fruition in the St. Croix River Valley. Visit their website to learn more. 

    Testimonial from Shari Mogren, Project Manager, VCC: “As a non-profit project manager, I appreciated your intentional and methodical work on our project. Thanks to your coaching and pre-planning support, we now feel equipped to embark on our capital campaign. We remain grateful for your guidance and are excited to make our Community Center dream a reality. Thank you, Square Loop Planning!”

    • Project Management

    • Facility Planning

    • Facilitation

napa, california

  • In 2021, Aneesha led the community input phase and the writing of the Make It in Napa Report. She gathered input through focus groups, one-on-one conversations, including tours and discussions with Napa's artists, makers, and vibrant Hispanic community. The team also launched an online survey for creatives in the Napa Valley.

    The Action Plan offered the city and local partners steps they can take to make Napa a place where makers, creatives, businesses, manufacturers, and their workers can thrive. The ecosystems that must support these industries and that are the focus of this report include: Napa's brand/reputation, real estate opportunities, capital/financial resources, business support programs, workforce housing, training/education, government infrastructure, transit/access & regional connections, and local supply chains. Many of the recommendations have been implemented by the City of Napa leadership.

    Gordon Huether, whose sculpture Hand of the Land is pictured above, served on the Advisory Committee.

    • Community Engagement

    • Project Management

    • Arts/Cultural District Planning

    • Action Plans

    • Facilitation

    • Market Studies/Surveys

    • Outreach to Distinct Communities

Salida, Colorado

  • In 2022, Aneesha served as the project manager for  Artspace’s Preliminary Feasibility Study, the initial step in assessing whether an affordable arts development project would be suitable based on a community’s unique needs, assets, and resources. She led focus groups, conducted stakeholder outreach, organized public meetings, and played a key role in launching the creative space needs market survey, which garnered over 300 responses.

    In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, this study was conducted in a hybrid format, utilizing both virtual tools and in-person engagement. Salida is a  certified Creative District and is part of the State of Colorado’s Space to Create program. This engagement ultimately led to Artspace developing a downtown site for workforce housing.

    • Community Engagement

    • Project Management

    • Arts/Cultural District Planning

    • Action Plans

    • Facilitation

    • Market Studies/Surveys

    • Outreach to Distinct Communities

winston-salem, nc

  • Aneesha wrote an Arts Action Plan for the historic Happy Hill neighborhood near the University of North Carolina School for the Arts. Once overlooked and disinvested, this community is rich in history, being one of the first freed slave neighborhoods. The plan includes steps for securing historic designation, branding, and incorporating an arts association into community leadership. This work was performed virtually due to the pandemic and relied on a local facilitator.

    • Project Management

    • Arts/Cultural District Planning

    • Action Plans

Las vegas, nevada

  • In 2024, Artspace was invited by the City of Las Vegas to study the feasibility of creating affordable artist live/work spaces in or near the Las Vegas Arts District. With a national reputation for entertainment and the arts, the city saw advancing housing for creatives as a strategic priority. Years of planning, led by Centro and Jamie Giellis, set the foundation for Artspace’s engagement. The Las Vegas Arts District Survey (302 respondents) and over 100 conversations highlighted affordability and artist displacement as key issues. Artspace’s work builds on Centro’s Strategy #4: Establish Affordable Space for Artists to Live and Work.

    Aneesha managed the feasibility study, collaborating closely with Giellis, and co-hosted a workshop at the 2024 Las Vegas Arts Summit to discuss space needs and shared opportunities for nonprofits. Aneesha also led conversations around equity and space that were deeply informative to the city stakeholders as they make decisions.

    • Community Engagement

    • Project Management

    • Arts/Cultural District Planning

    • Facilitation

    • Outreach to Distinct Communities

In the Media

Radio interview:

WEMU 89.1 Washtenaw County, Michigan

Creative Impact Interview with Deb Polich from Creative Washtenaw, “The search for shared space for artists and creatives resumes.”

Print interview:

The Griffin Daily News by Ray Lightner

“Artspace Pays a Visit to Griffin”

Radio interview:

OPMX NPR Affiliate Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

State Impact Interview with Catherine Sweeney, “Oklahoma City’s arts scene is growing, but rising rents and COVID fallout are squeezing its artists.”

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