For struggling visual and performance artists, free studio space is the equivalent of the Publishers Clearing House people ringing your doorbell. In a stroke of philanthropic genius, the owner of the 8th Street Marketplace in BoDo decided to put the Mercantile Building's empty office space to use by offering it up to local artists for free. In three-month intervals, visual artists, dancers, poets and even a theater company were invited to fill the space with their supplies and get down to business. It's only a few short blocks from BWHQ, and we are always psyched to peek in and observe these artists in their element on our way to grab some much needed caffeine.