ArtSpace is InterUrban ArtHouse’s physical location, a nonprofit-owned arts and cultural hub providing affordable space for artists and community in a 10,000 sq. ft. former USPS sorting facility. Renovated and occupied in 2017, IUAH’s property includes 11 single-artist studios, 2 Residency blocks–the Nicole Emanuel and Nedra Bonds Legacy Studios–accommodating 6 underserved multidisciplinary artists, a 3,500 sq. foot gallery/exhibition and event space, a donation-based coffee bar and kitchen, and an on-site art-therapy practice (Heartland Art Therapy). Our Outdoor Program Space includes a performance stage loading dock and shaded seating for 50 audience members, as well as room enough to accommodate 28 festival tents. In addition, IUAH houses partner arts-nonprofit Art As Mentorship’s studio recording space for emerging young musicians (The LAB). ArtSpace provides an affordable, inclusive venue for artists to commune and create. Our staff, studio and member artists strive to maintain a space where all who wish to engage feel a sense of acceptance and belonging, experience a network of positive creative motivation, and receive the support they need. This environment often works as a petri dish for innovative, interdisciplinary collaborations.

 includes IUAH’s exhibitions, art-skills classes, and bi-weekly open studio work sessions, as well as programming explicitly designed around the arts as a vehicle to mental, physical, and social health and wellness. IUAH hosts 5 open-call, no-entry-fee exhibitions per program year, as well as 1 exhibition exclusive to current IUAH studio and residency artists. In 2024, IUAH’s exhibitions were adapted and will continue to evolve to more authentically and inclusively reflect the artists living and and working to thrive in the region. ArtMatters also encompasses multidisciplinary arts-skills-development classes and workshops– painting, drawing, collage, dance and movement, spoken word and poetry, sculpture, fabric, etc– as well as twice-weekly Open Studio sessions where members bring supplies and come to create in community. Across ArtMatters (and all) program activities, IUAH seeks to raise awareness and actively engage artists and community members around the powerful impact of the arts on individual and community physical and mental health and wellness. This has manifested through IUAH’s dedicated ArtHeals exhibition, strategic partnerships with organizations championing mental and physical health and inclusion, special projects and - most recently - regular Creative Conversation groups (described previously). This program accounts for 27% of the ArtHouse’s budget expenses.

ArtsConnect encompasses the Creative Placemaking and public engagement work conducted by the ArtHouse, including community mural commissions, public sculptural installation, inclusion in local festivals, public performances of music, dance, fashion, poetry and spoken word, and the myriad ways art activates community.

ArtsConnect also includes 15 Annex (satellite) gallery spaces with corporate partners, Johnson County Public Libraries, and most recently with Village Shalom’s Epsten Gallery, representing paid opportunities for solo exhibition for artists. In addition to public art, ArtsConnect includes the arts advocacy work conducted by IUAH staff and artists, raising public awareness and support for the arts as an economic driver, essential to public education, a viable (and scientifically proven) alternative to traditional forms of healthcare provision, and in general an inarguable public good that is worthy of funding so that all can benefit. 

ArtWorks - delivered at InterUrban ArtHouse, partner locations, and via Zoom - affords opportunities for entrepreneurial development training to creatives to become professional, self-sufficient small businesses. Through ArtWorks, we aim to support entrepreneurial arts innovation by enabling growth, advancing business skills and providing training for the creative sector. ArtWorks includes topics such as strategic planning, marketing & communications, grants writing and fundraising, budgeting, accounting & tax planning, project management and legal practices. All classes are offered at low cost or no cost and no one is turned away because of their ability to pay. The program is in collaboration Kansas City Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts, Arts Council of Johnson County and AltCap.

ArtWorks participation includes: 

• 10 part “ArtWorks” workbook curriculum, emphasizing various essential skills for arts-based entrepreneurial development

• A four-part Financial Literacy series covering key topics: Legal, Taxes, Accounting, and Budgeting.

• A four-part "Festival Readiness" curriculum designed to help creatives thrive by growing their practice and achieving success at community fairs and festivals. Topics include checklists for success, creating an event calendar, merchandising and driving traffic. 

• Bi-weekly Zoom-based and/or in-person meetup groups at IUAH and 6 partner locations representing 9 organizations, providing for curriculum walkthrough and peer accountability

• Opportunities for grant and proposal writing curriculum 

• Monthly one-on-one consultations with legal and accounting experts 

• Monthly opportunities for individual feedback from professional grant writers for artist-drafted proposal and grant applications

• Gallery support through IUAH’s CuratorsConnect program, connecting artists and gallery curators to demystify curatorial and submission processes

• A community of 19 Studio and nearly 400 Member artists for professional networking, critical feedback, and mentorship

ArtSmart fosters the future of the arts by engaging youth in Title-1 schools through extracurricular and co-curricular activities across disciplines. ArtSmart enrichment fills a gap in elementary and middle school arts education by connecting students with practicing local artists from diverse cultural, racial/ethnic, and artistic backgrounds. These artists bring culturally diverse demonstrations–including the SMSD Summer Lunch Performance series–and real-world, hands-on arts engagement. Students - many of whom lack extracurricular exposure to the arts otherwise - get to see first-hand that art is more than just a class. It can be a way of life. As an aspect of ArtSmart, IUAH has piloted high-school-level programming designed to introduce students to creative career options and entrepreneurial pathways through Creative Career Mentors (CCM). CCM connects creative students with opportunities for artists mentorship, internship, exhibition inclusion, volunteering and exploration.