Photo / Courtesy Darren Setlow
The IAA studio building on 60 Cove St. in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood.
June 3, 2025
Indigo Arts Alliance acquires its HQ in Portland’s East Bayside
Photo / Courtesy Darren Setlow
Sarah Khan works in a dedicated artist studio during her 2019 residence.
Indigo Arts Alliance has secured its headquarters with the acquisition of the 8,000-square-foot purpose-built studio building it’s occupied since 2019.
The deal for the the property, at 60 Cove St. in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood, was for an undisclosed sum. The seller was also undisclosed.
“It was essential that Indigo Arts Alliance — the state’s first Black-led, Black- and Brown-centered, now Black-owned — would be located here,” said Jordia Benjamin, the alliance’s executive director. “IAA wanted to confront the false narrative that Maine is an ‘all white state.’ It is important to us that the community and our visiting artists can see each other existing. In this way we preserve and contribute to evolving history by correcting a false narrative.”
Global artists
The acquisition was made possible through fundraising efforts over the course of 18 months, which drew a mix of Maine-based and out-of-state foundation support and individual giving, Benjamin told Mainebiz.
Ownership is considered a milestone that signals the nonprofit’s long-term sustainability, cultural legacy and a deepened commitment to community, according to a news release.
Photo / Courtesy Mia Del Bene
Jordia Benjamin and Marcia and Daniel Minter are at right in the bottom row, seen during a 2024 symposium celebrating cultural and culinary traditions of global historical social justice movements.
Since its founding in 2018, Indigo Arts Alliance has embodied a Black-led, approach to the intersections of citizenship, community-building and creativity. The organization offers local, national and international residency opportunities in the form of a mentorship residency, David C. Driskell Fellowship at Black Seed Studio and the newly established C. Daniel Dawson Curatorial + Research Fellowship based in New York City.
The programs are designed to address historical injustices and advance equity for Black and Brown artists working across every discipline.
Photo / Courtesy Coco McCracken
Participants in a quilting workshop a presented by Indigo Arts Alliance with the Center for the Study of Global Slavery at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and Atlantic Black Box in 2023.
By the end of this year, the nonprofit will have served 81 artists in residence representing cultural lineages from 21 countries. In another milestone, the alliance secured permanent artist residency housing near 60 Cove St.
The alliance has three full time and one-time part-time staff members.
Benjamin became the alliance as executive director in 2023, succeeding Marcia Minter, the founding executive director.
FILE PHOTO / TIM GREENWAY
Jordia Benjamin
Minter is a 2020 Mainebiz Women to Watch honoree. Benjamin is a 2023 Mainebiz 40 Under 40 honoree.
Custom design
In recent years, East Bayside has become one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Portland. Recognizing the rapid increase in rents and the growing demand for real estate, the alliance pursued purchasing their building, which it previously rented, to ensure long-term stability and continued service to the community.
The building was designed with the developer under the direction of the alliance’s co-founders; Marcia and Daniel Minter. The goal was to have an arts incubator space for local, regional and global artists of color, with space for exchange between artists of African descent and other communities of color and a multidisciplinary artist-in-residency program.
Specifics include appropriate ventilation systems for all art media, concrete floors to withstand wear and tear from artist programs and from and moving equipment, moveable walls to make the space adaptable for multiple disciplines and to extend working spaces.
The development team included Random Orbit Inc., Bild Architecture and Wright-Ryan Construction.
Funding cuts
The alliance is experiencing strain from federal funding cuts.
“Indigo Arts Alliance has received National Endowment for the Arts grants for the past three years and has been impacted by federal cuts targeting the arts and culture sector,” Benjamin said. “The grants awarded totaled approximately $180,500, supporting the organization's artist residency programs that serve 14 artists each year. The loss of these funds places immense strain on the organization's operational budget, and IAA depends on community gifts and support to sustain the health of this rapidly growing program.”
The next goal is to build a sustainability fund for the organization.
“Now, being owners of property and also in an effort to grow our staff, we want to ensure our operational budget is healthy,” said Benjamin. “Our concentration will be on building up a financial budget that supports the growth of our organization.”
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