The Craft Studio, an auxiliary organization of the Missouri Students Association, announced Friday that it would cease operations in its current location by the end of 2016. The long-term future of the studio is still undetermined.
According to a [statement](https://craftstudio.missouri.edu/important-public-announcement/) the studio released Friday, the creative space will be shutting its doors mid-December. Until then, it will gradually terminate operations, including all workshops, events and gallery exhibits. Scheduled renovations will force the studio to move from its location in the lower level of Memorial Union.
The studio is canceling the Homemade Craft Sale and all events scheduled after Oct. 28. The last day to submit a request for buttons will be Oct. 17, and the last gallery will close Nov. 18. Starting Oct. 29, the studio will no longer be open on weekends.
Michelle Froese, assistant director of strategic communications for MU’s Student and Auxiliary Services, said the renovations were needed to fix a sewer line beneath the location. The sewer line was part of the original building when it opened in the 1950s. Froese said the replacement of a comparable line under the International Center took three months to complete.
The utilities cost of the space is also increasing. Froese said the Craft Studio would have to pay $5,000 for hot water to be directed to the area after recent utility updates. MSA President Sean Earl said that would prevent the studio from returning to that space after renovations are complete.
The studio recently [received](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2015/4/7/msa-senators-defend-msa-chair-pay-craft-studio/) a $3,000 budget cut for the fiscal year 2016 budget. Former MSA Budget Chairman Bill Vega said at the time that the cut was due to the studio’s failure to produce revenue.
Both Earl and MSA adviser Bryan Goers are searching for a new location to house the studio, but the large size required of the space makes this a difficult task. If other buildings prove to be too pricey, Earl said, MSA will not shortchange the other auxiliaries to accommodate all of the Craft Studio’s needs.
“We don’t want to stifle any other service because of the situation,” Earl said. “At the end of the day, we honestly have to ask ourselves, ‘What services does the 21st century student want to see?’”
Earl acknowledged that the Craft Studio occupies a unique space on campus, as it operates the last publicly available darkroom in Columbia. However, with widespread budget cuts, he said there is no avoiding higher operating costs.
“While we might be facing budget cuts, the reality is that the other entities on campus are also facing budget cuts,” Earl said. “Costs will undoubtedly rise as time goes on.”
MSA auxiliaries are protected under Article XII of the association’s constitution, which requires MSA to hold a referendum of students before permanently ceasing operations of an auxiliary. However, Goers said in an email that if a new space isn’t found, the auxiliary may still be forced to close.
“What we are finding is that most open space on campus already has multiple academic units in line for it,” Goers said. “If MSA and campus officials are not able to find an appropriate place for the Studio, then there could be a scenario where a referendum to close the Craft Studio permanently fails, but the Craft Studio is still forced to close because it has nowhere to move.”
If the cost of housing going forward is significantly higher, it could have a sizable impact on the studio’s ability to provide services.
“We could keep it, but it wouldn’t look the same at all,” Earl said. “We’d still have the Craft Studio on the books, but it would be nothing like it was before.”
Senior Alexis Stewart, who has participated in a work study program for the Craft Studio since August 2013, was upset to learn of the studio’s potential closure. She said the staff was like a family to her.
“For a lot of us, it’s our home on campus,” she said. “It’s where I’ve grown up and become the adult I am today.”
Stewart said fear of closure has plagued the studio for years, but she never thought it was really possible.
“We always knew that we were the underdogs so we always worried [about closure], but I didn’t think it would actually happen. But then last year when they were putting the budget together, I was just so worried. …We weren’t loved as much as I think we should have been.”
_Edited by Emily Gallion | egallion@themaneater.com_