Overview

SPARC352: Space for People, Arts, Research, and Creative Collaboration and Community  

Join the SPARC352 Network!

SPARC352 is a place-based initiative grounded in the idea that arts are at the core of vibrant and healthy communities. In partnership with community members, SPARC352 aims to develop self-sustaining community centers for learning, wellness, workforce development, and historic and cultural preservation through creativity and collaboration. Each center will be a Space for People, Arts, Research, and Creative Collaboration and Community (that is, SPARC352). 

The first SPARC352 project proposes development of Old Fire Station #1 in downtown Gainesville to provide resources to adjacent communities and the city. The proposal envisions UF’s Center for Arts in Medicine, Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship, and Shands Arts in Medicine working collaboratively with the City of Gainesville and Gainesville community members to activate the site and create a new community center—a knowledge and empowerment hub—on South Main Street.  

SPARC352 will facilitate and prioritize community access to a range of resources and programming at the intersection of arts, culture, entrepreneurship, education, and wellness in a central and readily accessible location. 

The SPARC352 initiative will offer: 

• A physical space in the form of creative studios, flexible work areas, and makerspace for people to work, learn, and create together; 
• Community programs and activities in arts, health, and entrepreneurship; and 
• A collaborative environment with and for communities to develop new partnerships, programs, research, ideas, solutions, and knowledge on the issues and in the ways that matter most to them. 

Key members of the UF and community working groups include: 

Dionne Champion, Co-Director of SPARC352, Center for Arts in Medicine 
Alana Jackson, Co-Director of SPARC352, Center for Arts in Medicine 
Terri Bailey, Bailey Learning and Arts Collective 
Jacob Larson, The Bull and Gainesville Vineyard
Carla Lewis-Miles, Greater Duval Neighborhood Association
Turbado Marabou, Cultural Artist and Educator
Faye Williams, MAMA’s Club and Porters Quarters
Rhonda Wilson, Star Center Theater
Andrew Telles, Office of Collaborative Initiatives 
Osubi Craig, Director, Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship 
Tina Mullen, Director, UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine
Jill Sonke, Research Director, Center for Arts in Medicine 
Onye Ozuzu, Dean, College of the Arts  

For more information on SPARC352/Gainesville, including proposal materials, please visit the UF Office of Collaborative Initiatives.