Ink, Spark Center make it official on Friday

Ink Artspace and the Spark Center, after a year of shacking up, are getting hitched.

The two nonprofits – one that aims to create a vibrant arts culture, the other that adds health, tech and education components to the mix – have officially joined forces and will reveal a new name on Friday at a Golden Spike ceremony.

Ink, founded in 2014 by novelist Jess Walter, originally opened on West Sprague Avenue in downtown Spokane, and moved across the river to the Spark Center’s home in Kendall Yards last summer. It has developed a number of popular programs, including Origin Stories and Girls Rock Lab.

The Spark Center, a project of Greenstone Homes – developers of the Kendall Yards neighborhood – and the Greenstone Foundation, opened to the public last August, offering a lending library, a maker lab, technology resources and other programs.

“There was a lot of overlapping,” said executive director Brooke Matson, “and I think the public became convinced we already were the same thing, so we decided to make it official.”

Friday’s events begin at 10 a.m. with the unveiling of the combined group’s new name. Following the reveal, there will be a daylong celebration featuring activities for kids and adults through 6 p.m., with a special program for community partners from 1 to 2 p.m.

Matson said she doesn’t expect there to be any radical changes in mission. But it will be more focused on creativity.

“Because Spark had an emphasis on access to technology and resources, and Ink had an emphasis on very creative programming, we have melded those. We want to be an access point for inspiring creativity and innovation and imagination and really helping people get to where they want to go and igniting that passion.”