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AI Hub’s art incubator is leaving River Market, taking over top floor of renovated PHKC space
The AI Hub is moving into The Porter House KC’s new 811 Retail Incubator, James Spikes shared, and he’s excited about the connections and opportunities it will bring.
James Spikes and Taylor Burris, AI Hub, pitch on stage at the Gem Theater during The Porter House KC’s Pitch Night; photo by Austin Barnes, Startland News
After more than a year headquartered in the River Market, the AI Hub’s one-stop art incubator — launched by Spikes and his wife, Taylor Burris — will occupy the top floor of the newly renovated Porter House KC (PHKC) space near Martini Corner.
“It was kind of a no-brainer,” Spikes said. “It is an incubator in itself for entrepreneurs, and for us to have an art incubator for creative entrepreneurs, it was the perfect pairing. It really just made sense.”
The AI Hub — powered by IRIS Creative Projects Agency — is a Cohort 4 alum of PHKC’s Small Business Development Program and received Alchemy Sandbox funding from the nonprofit, which serves early stage entrepreneurs and businesses that are attempting to launch or expand.
The Porter House KC’s 811 Retail Incubator at 811 E. 31st St.; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“We’ve enjoyed working with each other,” Spikes continued. “So it was another reason why, ‘Where else would you go with someone so welcoming who just knows your heart and also knows the direction that you want to go?’”
“They’ve supported us from the beginning — not only supporting by being in their cohorts and providing funding — but also giving us the opportunity to show our skill set to others,” he added, “bringing us in on collaborations where they needed a creative spark and we were able to uplift that project with them.”
The partnership lives within the purpose of The Porter House KC, noted co-founder Dan Smith, which aims to continually create access and connectivity.
“Being in this position to support them full-circle — have them co-locate with us — is amazing from both perspectives,” he explained. “Aside from this, I think our organization also benefits from having two driven, kind, and thoughtful co-founders, who are already tapped-in to such a dynamic sense of creatives. We believe this will only enhance the energy that The AI Hub and their members will bring to space.”
The unfinished second floor of The Porter House KC’s 811 Retail Incubator at 811 E. 31st St., which is awaiting renovation; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
While PHKC is hoping for a mid-May opening for its retail incubator — which is expected to offer nine booths, each featuring individual pod spaces for selected entrepreneurs — the top floor is still under construction. Spikes said they are hoping to be open for business in the fall, although the River Market space will close at the end of April.
“We’ll take the summer to grow in our outward-facing programming — even outside of space — creating more partnerships, putting more tools in people’s hands,” he continued. “And then after that, going into the fall, we’ll look to move in and have a grand opening and things of that nature.”
The new space — which features a rooftop patio and enclosed backyard area — will still maintain the AI Hub’s apparel and digital design labs as well as its photography and recording studios, he said, noting that the incubator’s current members plan to transfer to the new location. The AI Hub will also continue to offer workshops and classes.
Rendering of the 811 Retail Incubator, created by the AI Hub; image courtesy of The Porter House KC
While the new AI Hub location will be much smaller than the River Market setup, Spikes said, a space reduction will allow them to refocus on their priorities.
“We had a lot of space, and with a lot of space, you have to use it up,” he explained. “So you have to do events. You have to rent it out. You have to do things that make sense for having that much space. Then sometimes with having that much space, you never get back to what your intent was, which was to provide the tools, to provide the space, to provide workshops, to help people grow in their skill sets.”
“So we see the space actually making our service and our goals more pinpointed on what we’d like to do,” Spikes added.
He also hopes moving into a new neighborhood in the city will lead to new connections, he noted.
“We’d love to see how we can move our space to a community in the middle and see how we can bring more people in, expand that community, and give them more resources,” Spikes said.
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