Comments on: Artists: Eternal Nomads? http://www.chouteauslanding.com/news/2008/09/04/artists-eternal-nomads/ Chouteau's Landing Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:24:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Jan Briggs http://www.chouteauslanding.com/news/2008/09/04/artists-eternal-nomads/comment-page-1/#comment-6010 Jan Briggs Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:51:34 +0000 http://www.chouteauslanding.com/news/?p=101#comment-6010 In a city the size of St. Louis one would think that the city Fathers, and Business men here would provide Artist in Missouri a special creative building where artists who have paid money and graduated St. Louis art schools could have low rent art studio's. An art gallery on site big enough for large or small art to be juried/exibited, open to the public to encurage art sales at a percentage to the building owners. I am now on social security, a Washington University grad. with a M.A. and art spaces in this city are out of the question. Grandma Moses could not have made it here if she had high art space rental to pay. I wish I had a studio, and a place to exibit always. Art and music make the world happy. Grandma Jan In a city the size of St. Louis one would think that the city Fathers, and Business men here would provide Artist in Missouri a special creative building where artists who have paid money and graduated St. Louis art schools could have low rent art studio’s. An art gallery on site big enough for large or small art to be juried/exibited, open to the public to encurage art sales at a percentage to the building owners. I am now on social security, a Washington University grad. with a M.A. and art spaces in this city are out of the question. Grandma Moses could not have made it here if she had high art space rental to pay. I wish I had a studio, and a place to exibit always. Art and music make the world happy. Grandma Jan

]]> By: Chouteau http://www.chouteauslanding.com/news/2008/09/04/artists-eternal-nomads/comment-page-1/#comment-442 Chouteau Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:33:48 +0000 http://www.chouteauslanding.com/news/?p=101#comment-442 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. 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.

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