Living Room Studios – TheRoanoker.com

“There’s an artistic renaissance going on in Roanoke right now and I want to be part of the change and the movement to keep artists here,” says Roanoke native Nathan (Nate) Vaughan.

Vaughan is one of the founders of a new arts organization in Roanoke, Living Room Studios. The creation of Living Room Studios was born out of a strong desire to build an organic community around positive causes and help define what it means to be an artist. Vaughan believes that everyone has something to say and that our voice is an art form in itself.

Although Vaughan had a background in mechanical engineering, he always loved music, the arts and connecting with people. The goal of Living Room Studios is to cultivate diversity and be committed to promoting the fact that “there is an artist in each of us,» and help people harness this creative side.

Vaughan believes the city’s arts and music scene can be competitive. Through his conversations and observations, he’s seen artists fall into a zero-sum mentality, believing that “success” can only be achieved by a select few, which then pushes them out of the area. Living Room Studios is working toward its non-profit status by focusing on providing resources to artists.

There are resources that can help them stay closer to their roots longer and cultivate the relationships and community needed to build and promote their brand. Part of the mission is to be able to change the culture so that it allows artists and creators to rise and succeed collectively.

You can learn more about Living Room Studios and their upcoming events in Mountain House on their LinkTree page or on Facebook.

Some upcoming events:

• Monthly Sunday Socials – 2nd Sunday of each month at 6:30 p.m. – Provides opportunity to build community – “Roundtable” discussion with prompts and questions related to arts in the city
• Feedback Loop – Open Mic Style Event – ​​3rd Friday of every month at 6:30pm – Artists are open to bringing experimental work with the opportunity to get feedback from other artists and the community.
• Mountain House Garden Concerts – Once a month, as scheduled by the featured artist – This event typically takes place on Saturdays at 6:30pm – Artists and dates posted on Facebook and Eventbrite. This is a donation-based event.