“What you’ll get out of the collective is directly connected to what you put in. If you hardly show up, you’ll hardly feel connected. Paint every corner of the floor yourself, fix a broken window, put up a shelf, and you’ll feel a fulfilling amount of ownership. Ownership is key for everyone in a collective.”—Anthony Ruivivar
Anthony Ruivivar: Founding Member, Six01 / Burbank CA
six01studio.com
“what you’ll get out of the collective is directly connected to what you put in. if you hardly show up, you’ll hardly feel connected. paint every corner of the floor yourself, fix a broken window, put up a shelf, and you’ll feel a fulfilling amount of ownership. ownership is key for everyone in a collective.”—anthony ruivivar
Can you briefly describe the genesis and development of Six01?
Six01 Studio was created in response to a lack of synergy between artists from different disciplines, and to remove the roadblocks that held up the artistic process: namely the gap between a concept and the resources to bring that innovative concept to fruition. Six01’s focus is to create a networked hub/incubator for creators, thinkers, artists, and problem solvers to collaborate and experiment with new and traditional forms of expression and content creation.
Six01 Collective
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What is the extent of the space, equipment, and resources available?
We occupy a large warehouse in Burbank, CA. We’ve built a recording studio, black box theatre, main shooting stage, wood shop, conference room, kitchen, office space, dressing room, and lounge. We keep the main shooting area as flexible raw space. Rather than installing speed rail, we allow each production or idea to dictate what the space needs to be, not the other way around. One day we can be shooting stop frame animation or building an art instillation, and the next we’re doing a staged reading series with a live audience. We’ve also improved on the idea and created break out space, allowing a rehearsal to go on in the black box while shooting takes place in the main space.
Six01 Studio
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Why is a collaborative working environment important to artists and designers?
As artists who make a living producing art, we can forget why we do it in the first place. Six01 is an environment designed to remind artists why we do what we do. We live between the artist’s garage and the studio system, creating a place to dream, build, and execute. We provide a facility where you can bring an idea into a group of interdisciplinary thinkers who respect the artistic process, and develop ideas in new ways. A collective removes the roadblocks that prevent your idea from coming to fruition by putting as many puzzle pieces together as quickly as possible. Working in a collective has been around for centuries; we’re just continuing the process. With the way technology is moving so quickly and in so many directions, the next art forms will be created by harnessing multiple disciplines.
courtesy of six01
What advice would you give to a community wanting to start their own collaborative makerspace or warehouse studio?
First, I always say that what you’ll get out of the collective is directly connected to what you put in. If you hardly show up, you’ll hardly feel connected. Paint every corner of the floor yourself, fix a broken window, put up a shelf, and you’ll feel a fulfilling amount of ownership. Ownership is key for everyone in a collective; without it, you’re not a collective.
Yvonne Safe
courtesy of six01
Can you give an example of a project that came out of Six01 that was directly influenced by the space and being around a collective?
Our art instillation, “The Blackout,” shown at Bryant Park NYC during Superbowl week is a perfect example. It was written, conceived, built, filmed, edited, sound designed, and produced entirely at our Burbank studio over the course of three months. Every one of our members were involved, as well as our network of friends.