Elgin art nonprofit Side Street adding lab, store

The founders of a downtown Elgin arts nonprofit are expanding their venture to continue fostering the development of local artists and help them make connections with each other.

Side Street Studio Arts, 15 Ziegler Court, has an art gallery on the first floor and a performance space on the second floor. A newly rented space next door at 11 and 13 S. Spring St. will contain an art supply store and a lab, or a shared work space for artists.

"We want to take that scariness, that fear out of art," said Tanner Melvin, who co-founded Side Street Studio Arts with his wife, Erin Rehberg. "It's about being with other artists and everything that means. We want to make art more accessible to everyone. Our main goal is to create accessibility through the arts, by artists and for artists."

The lab space will be available to artists via hourly, monthly and even 24-hour memberships for those who want to work late into the night, Melvin said, pointing out artists often work third shift or juggle various jobs.

"We saw the opportunity to do something really great in here," he said. "We are hedging our bets. We believe this (local) community of artists will be there."

The plan is to open the new space March 1 on the fourth anniversary of Side Street, said Melvin, who's been hard at work to renovate it with the help of friends and fellow artists with expertise in drywall, lighting, painting and more. A GoFundMe effort seeks to raise money for lab equipment.

Melvin said he and his wife feel a special drive to coax artists out of the shadows.

"There are people that literally have their studio in their basement and never come out," he said. Jane Erlandson of Elgin, who will work as store manager at the new space, was one of those artists.

Erlandson, 62, said she had been "playing at art" for about two decades while working as an instructional designer of online courses. Then, she decided to answer a call for artists put out by Side Street about a year ago, which led to her work being shown and appreciated, she said.

"They give opportunities for people who thought they didn't have them," Erlandson said.

The new lab - which will have storage space for the artists' supplies and works in progress - won't just be a work space, but a place where artists can get guidance and mentorship, Erlandson said.

"If they don't even know how to begin," she said, "we'll give them help."