A group of six artists have opened a collective at 703 Columbus Ave. in the former Piccolo Press, with the goal of keeping the art community in North Beach alive and well.

The space is called the North Beach Bauhaus, after the original school of art and design in early-20th-century Germany. It moved in on July 1st, and is planning a grand opening on August 7th (5–10pm), piggybacking on Grant Avenue's First Fridays event. But that's just the beginning for the collective, whose artists have ambitious plans. "If you’re going to dream, dream big," said founding member James Cha.

The business has four major components:

• Studios for the six member artists, with space for other artists to rent (prices TBD)
• A showcase and gallery for artwork and retail goods like posters, cards, T-shirts and gifts
• A community space for art openings, storytelling workshops, classes, parties and more
• Rental space for events

There are six founding member artists: 

• James H. Cha, photographer, painter and digital artist
• Romalyn Schmaltz, fine art painter, photographer, and graphic designer and senior faculty at the Academy of Art
• Ernesto Evangelista, fine art painter and 20-year counter veteran of Caffè Trieste
• Earl Thibodeaux, hat designer and manufacturer; owner of EARL-MADE apparel
• Sean Dick, engineer, programmer, musician and silkscreen artist
• Jennifer Barber, fine art painter and sculptor and server at Sodini's and Original Joe's
  

Cha and Schmaltz, who are "partners in every sense of the word," ran the I Heart North Beach Gallery on Green Street from January 2014 to January 2015, but it didn't survive, said Schmaltz. They're hoping the new location on Columbus will bring more foot traffic and increased interest. "We already have people poking their heads in saying, 'What’s this?' I think that this block will eventually become another corridor of bright mercantilism.”

The Bauhaus, translated roughly as "school of building," was a place where artists learned a wide range of arts and were encouraged to build total works of art together. Similarly, Cha and Schmaltz are committed to the idea of artists helping artists, and hope to provide a cohesive, collaborative, supportive space where member artists can rent affordable work space, learn from each other, and bounce ideas off of each other. "For working and working-class artists, I think this is a solution," Schmaltz said.

Space for working artists at North Beach Bauhaus.

The Bauhaus hopes to serve the community as well. Schmaltz was recently appointed the arts and culture chair for Telegraph Hill Dwellers, and said now that the Emerald Tablet has closed, she hopes to hold events for the group at the space.

The artists have a six-year lease with landlord and Da Flora restaurateur Flora Gaspar, who turned away prospective tenants with more funds in order to bring in an art-centered business. "The space that they’re in is in between my restaurant and my store [Rialto Mercato, in progress]," Gaspar said. "So I wanted something that would blend. And something artistic felt good. I would’ve liked a gallery or an artists’ space or an antique store. No nail shop."