As plans for the Chouteau’s Landing Art Center gain momentum, we at Chivvis hear more and more concern about artists getting the boot as St. Louis neighborhoods experience a boom in redevelopment. While everyone is excited about the redevelopment, it seems artists are always the first to be pushed out as rents rise.
It’s not as if St. Louis is alone in trying to find a middle ground to gentrification. Even on a recent trip to NYC, illustrator friends were telling us about the latest artist hub - not in SoHo, NoHo or anywhere in Manhattan for that matter - they recently migrated to their second Brooklyn neighborhood. It makes one wonder if artists are doomed to be eternal nomads in search of new studio space after they help a neighborhood succeed.
Chivvis Development is trying to find a way to continue to offer affordable space to working artists while also building the Chouteau’s Landing district with strong commercial activity and diverse inhabitants.
What examples have you found in your travels or your studies that illustrate ways in which city planners, developers and artists worked together successfully to create an exhilarating district that included artists?
Respond by clicking the Comments link.
September 4th, 2008 at 11:33 am
These are some comments submitted by our online newsletter members:
1. In spring, I had the joy of attending a “First Friday” event in Kansas City, MO. The streets were literally teaming with people walking from location to location in the Crossroads district of downtown. Local retail, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and art galleries (small and large) all participated in the event. People could browse through traditional or independent galleries, witness art being made (or danced) on the street, and taste wine and other flavors in select locations. The most exciting venue was the Arts Incubator (http://artsincubatorkc.org/). Artist “studios” were partitioned cubes (or lets call them rectangles) that each artist could make their own. This was a work-space and display area that invited visitors to step inside and see unfinished work, pieces for sale, and the tools used to make them all. What was also most impressive was that the place was crowded yet people did not seem to mind milling through an old warehouse that definitely still had a “warehouse” feel. Visitors were undaunted by uneven floor boards and a scary back stair case. The place held an air of “exciting progress” rather than “artists relegated to an unfinished shack.” A few key features that make this type of incubator possible: -Low rent for art “studio” space -A regular occuring event that brings people into the artist space. Much more effective than renting out a lonely single studio space. -The support of the neighboring business and community. This event is well attended in KC, showing that people can be committed to supporting the arts in a changing area, not just for annual special events. The fact that this is successful in Kansas City shows that the midwest CAN support this type of environment. Its not just happening in big cities that are already established as hot beds for independent artists, such as Chicago. As planners for the area, you have the opportunity to keep St. Louis the cool side of the state
2. Paducah, KY; created a series of tax incentives for artists to purchase and renovate housing in a run-down section of town. At the same time, the city built on the audience that had developed over the last 40 years focused on the art of hand-made quilts, and women’s art and craft in general. Paducah is now a good overnight trip to see regional art.
3. Paducha, Kentucky has worked with artists to transform their town into a living arts community, offering low cost loans for building purchases so that they could be turned into studios and the town become an arts destination.