Art Project Roanoke hosts community events on the first floor and artist studios above.
Written & Photographed by Christina Nifong / Photo above: Artist Brian Counihan, Roanoke Arts and Culture Coordinator Douglas Jackson, and other artists and community members create people-centered floats for this year’s Daisy Art Parade in the main floor of Art Project Roanoke, located in the heart of downtown.
It’s a Monday night. That means brown paper is taped to the pop-up plastic tables, fingers are sticky with glue, and studio artists work side-by-side with those who’ve stopped by, searching for community and creativity.
Inspiration abounds: papier mâché sculptures line the plate-glass windows; a small gallery to one side exhibits Hollins University student work; two poets duck in to discuss a future open mic night.
Welcome to Art Project Roanoke, the city’s newest community art space, where events—like the free weekly meetups held this spring in preparation for the Daisy Art Parade on May 9—invite everyone to gather and make.
“We’re trying to be an artspace for the whole community,” said painter Leslie Santapaul. “Art is a unifier for people. We need that more than ever.”
Art Project Roanoke was born last year when the owner of 101 Campbell Ave. (three stories of brick dotted with two eye-catching, orangey circle windows) donated the building to support local arts. He envisioned a partnership with the Market Gallery downtown and tapped longtime Roanoke artist Ann Glover—perhaps best known for her Dalmatian sculpture located on the lawn of the Grandin Village fire station—to shepherd the effort. She formed a 501(c)(3); her niece-in-law Kori Wallace, with a background in tech marketing, serves as director of marketing and operations in a volunteer capacity. There is no paid staff. Volunteers have spiffed up the space. The building’s owner continues to make improvements.
Seven board members, including Glover and Wallace, are now meeting to chart the nonprofit’s future. Seven artists, including Santapaul, have rented studios on the third floor; an eighth studio is reserved for community use. The hallway-of-an-art-gallery changes exhibitions monthly. Already, the organization has hosted classes on painting, collage, and puppeteering.
Art Project Roanoke’s leaders say they are just getting started–exploring collaborations with other groups and determining how they can support creativity for all.
“We don’t need fancy tables. We don’t need a lot of supplies,” said Wallace. “We just want to get people in here.…It’s a matter of creating and being together.”
Learn more about Art Project Roanoke at artprojectroanoke.org.
The story above first appeared in our May/June 2026 issue.
