Torpedo Factory Artist Extensions Planned As City Considers Facility's Future

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Amid possible changes to who runs the Torpedo Factory Art Center in the future, Alexandria City Council is advancing a measure to temporarily extend current artist leases.

The city council voted Tuesday on extending artist leases at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. The proposed action would extend leases one year for leases expiring Sept. 30, 2025, Sept. 30, 2026 and Sept. 30, 2027. The new lease end dates would be Sept. 30, 2026, Sept. 30, 2027 and Sept. 30, 2028. City Council will have a June 14 public hearing on the content of the lease extensions.

"I want to give some ease and comfort to our community that is very passionate about this space, that no lease is ending this year," said Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley at Tuesday's meeting.

Bagley cited a process to choose a new operator for the Torpedo Factory Art Center. The city put out a request for information from potential operators, and the deadline for responses was May 16. No contract is being awarded as part of this preliminary process. City staff will provide an update on the process in June.

"We put out a [request] for potential operators for the Torpedo Factory moving forward, sort of an entity structure that would lead the Torpedo Factory into the future and its next 50 years," said Bagley. "That went out in April, and we're assessing the responses and how we move forward."

The city's request for information says it is seeking operators with a "proven combination of experience, financial capacity / credit worthiness and expertise in the management, operation, and marketing of successful art centers with the ability to manage artist studios, galleries, arts programming, and facility rentals."

The Torpedo Factory Art Center, a former munitions plant along the Alexandria waterfront, was founded in 1974 and now has the largest number of public artist studios in the U.S. The city became the temporary operator in 2016 and previously managed it for 22 years until 1996. In December 2021, Alexandria City Council approved a Torpedo Factory Art Center vibrancy and sustainability plan to seek a separate governance structure for the art center.

In 2022, the city completed its first re-jurying process in the Torpedo Factory Art Center's 48-year history as part of the vibrancy plan. Selected artists received three-year leases for studios. Founding artists who have maintained studios since 1974 were exempt from re-jurying and were offered year-to-year leases. The art center hosts around 110 artists and arts organizations.

Get The Latest Local News (For Free!) With One Quick Tap