From the outside, people driving by might think the Garage Studio is just another downtown parking deck.

A former police substation at the corner of Assembly and Taylor Street, with a garage surrounding it, the studio doesn’t look too different from other concrete garages.

But for the artists who work within, the space has been transformative.

Managed by One Columbia, the Garage Studio reshaped an underutilized corner of a parking garage into free workspace for three emerging local artists. The City of Columbia leases the space to One Columbia at no cost, with additional support from AgFirst Farm Credit Bank and the Unum Group.

“Finding affordable studio space can be difficult for artists,” One Columbia Executive Director Xavier Blake said in a press release. “We believe this emerging artist space will help remove that barrier … and be a springboard for these artists to establish careers and contribute to the creative economy of our city.”

The program accepted its first round of artists in April 2024. Now in its second year, the artists from the initial class are showcasing what the opportunity made possible.

Columbia-based painter Jordan Johnson, one of the three original residents, said the studio experience pushed both his work and his ambitions in new directions. Though his practice centers on portraits and figure studies, Johnson said he’s been working to layer in deeper social commentary and personal meaning. The studio accelerated that evolution.

“The Garage Studio gave me a great experience to work with other artists who have helped me grow in my view of what art is and how I should approach it,” Johnson said.

The highlight of his residency came in the form of a public mural: Flowers of Jasmine and The Hues of Blue! on Taylor Street, which he completed alongside fellow artist and painter Cedric Umoja-Day.

“I got the honor to not only work alongside my other studio artists,” Johnson said. “I genuinely hope other artists can experience the same thing with this studio space and be able to learn and grow as much as I did, if not more.”

Fellow 2024-25 resident Victoria Rickards, a painter whose work draws inspiration from her everyday experiences and memories, said the opportunity felt exciting because it was uncharted territory.

“It was (One Columbia’s) first time having this space,” she said. “All of us didn’t really know what we were getting into.”

For Rickards, the physical space was larger than her home studio, and it gave her room to work in ways she hadn’t been able to before. But beyond the square footage, she said the residency reshaped how she thinks about her art altogether, and it gave her the chance to work in proximity to other artists.

She described one event as her favorite memory from the year, from 701 Center for Contemporary Art’s two-county Open Studios event. All three artists kept their doors open and let visitors wander in, spending hours together as a group.

“I think that was the only time we were all in the space together,” she said. “And it was just very fun. So we were all getting to know one another, but also getting to know the space. I really enjoyed that day specifically.”

The residency gave her a renewed sense of momentum and a feeling that Columbia values its artists, Rickards said.

“It was a very fruitful thing for me to gain more work ethic, more excitement and feeling like the city cares about artists,” she said. “That was honestly one of the biggest impacts for me, just seeing the city grow an opportunity for artists.”