The opportunity for local artists and musicians to interact with one another can be hard to come by — but not at a house called Universe City.

Universe City, 733 Debarr Ave., puts an emphasis on the idea of participatory education and a sense of community by renting studio space to those who desire space to work on creative activities. Rooms throughout the building are geared towards different learning environments. An art studio with free supplies including paints, brushes, sewing machines and fabric is open to the public. A library room holds books and other literature, as well as free wireless Internet access. Work on a new meditation room is expected to be completed sometime in the next month.

The center also offers sign-up sheets for those interested in teaching or taking music, art and craft-making classes.

“We’ve had a class on herbal cleansing, a sewing class and guitar lessons,” Nicole West, who rents studio space at Universe City, said. “All free. That’s the big deal. Free school.”

The center also hosts open-mic nights every other week in which comedians, bands and poets are able to perform in front of an audience. The events are free of charge and open to the public. Attendance at open-mic nights have continued to increase since they first began in February, so much so that a wall had to be removed to create more space, West said.

The 86-year-old house is in need of many repairs, and countless hours of labor have gone into fixing and restoring parts of the building, West said.

“We restored a fireplace, redid the walls and redid the entire front room,” she said. “But it’s got a lot of the same things it had when it was originally built.”

Stephen Tyler, a former OU student and Norman native who has rented studio space since March, said the building that houses the center has a rich history.

“It was originally built in 1922 as a fraternity house,” Tyler said. “We haven’t been able to track down which fraternity exactly. This whole street used to be fraternity and sorority houses. The Ruf Neks have lived here at one point also.”

While much of the house is open to the public, there are strict rules that visitors are expected to follow. Drug use and underage drinking aren’t allowed, and cigarette smoking is designated to certain rooms and areas.

“We try to keep it a friendly environment for children and families and grandparents,” West said.

Those interested in learning about events or classes at Universe City should visit http://www.myspace.com/universecitynorman.