Fresno State students paint new picture of Downtown Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno State students are bringing art far away from the classroom. The one-of-a-kind program houses studios for budding artists inside a brand new complex. Organizers hope the facility paints a new picture of Downtown Fresno.

1419 M Street has been a lot of things since the 1950's. An old printing shop, at one time, auto parts were bought and sold here. With a vision, and a facelift, decades were removed off the M Street building and new ideas are now painted inside.

Darius Assemi of Granville homes said, "These are the efforts needed to help revitalize our downtown and we're very proud of this partnership with Fresno State and Dr.Castro."

One side of the "M Street Arts Complex" houses studio spaces where more than a dozen professional artists like Jason Casey showcase their handiwork. Casey is hoping more people will see his unique pieces at events like Art Hop.

Casey added, "Most of the time people think of art on the coast but there's a lot of people that love art in Fresno so they don't have to travel so far to see some really nice pieces."

And on the other side of the building and for the first time, an educational experience. 15 of Fresno State's graduate students will work here. A private space, an option to come and go at anytime, and state of the art facilities for the budding artists to create masterpieces.

Nick Potter, Professor of Art said, "It's a great opportunity for students to have a lot of publicity and incentive to make a lot of work. Incredible studio space they've never had anything like this."

Giving these grad students the chance to see what it's like to work in a real life studio.

"They're going to get a different type of criticism here from the community and from faculty and it will help create interest in our program as well."

Bringing visions to fruition inside a building that just needed a little makeover to reveal its full potential.