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Arts and Urban Revitalization from the Perspective of Providence's Arts and Urban Revitalization From the Perspective of Providence’s Arts Organizations A thesis submitted by Emma Heffern in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning TUFTS UNIVERSITY FEBRUARY 2011 ADVISER: Laurie Goldman READER: Justin Hollander ABSTRACT This thesis explores the perspective of arts organizations in the context of Providence, Rhode Island. It looks at key claims about the arts as a catalyst for social, economic and physical benefits and asks whether revitalization benefits have extended beyond the downtown area to other neighborhoods and populations. The analysis includes a characterization of Providence’s local arts universe, (Filicko and Lafferty 2002) interviews with key actors, and a case study of AS220. AS220 is the ideal critical case for the project because it is one of the anchors of the city’s Arts and Entertainment District, it focuses on a wide variety of media, and it has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the city and revitalization. This project found that Providence’s arts organizations are not all alike— some organizations are more dedicated to revitalization theories and efforts than others, and that level of dedication varies with respect to the types of contributions and the beneficiaries. ii! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you Ben Johnson for all Family and friends for putting up with this for so long Laurie Goldman for patience and encouragement Bob Rizzo for the original inspiration Bert Crenca for tireless commitment to the arts and Providence Providence’s amazing arts organizations AS220: Bert Crenca and Xander Marro WaterFire: Barnaby Evans Community Music Works: Sebastian Ruth Trinity: Michael Gennaro Black Rep: Don King PPAC: Lynn Singleton and Councilman Cliff Wood iii! TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page 1 Introduction 2 2 Arts-Based Revitalization: A Review of the Literature 7 3 Research Methods 18 4 Providence’s Approach to Arts-Based Revitalization 20 5 Characterization of Providence’s Arts Universe 25 6 Interviews with Prominent Actors in Providence’s Arts Scene 31 7 AS220, An Organization Dedicated to the Arts, The City of Providence, and its 45 People 8 View from the Audience 55 9 Conclusion and Recommendations for Further Research and Practice 69 Appendix 76 A: Providence Arts Organizations with a Community-Focused Mission B: Descriptions of Organizations to be Interviewed C: Sample Interview Questions D: Copy of Survey Bibliography 86 iv! LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table Title Page 4.1 Providence’s Arts and Entertainment District Map 21 5.1 Active Providence Arts Organizations Included in the ProvPlan database 27 5.2 Characteristics of Arts Organizations with a Community Mission 29 7.1 Types of events at AS220 53 8.1 Demographics of Survey Respondents 60 8.2 Attendance at Programming at Arts Organizations Other Than AS220 62 8.3 Other Expenses While Attending Arts Programming 63 8.4 Participation in Arts Programs and Feelings About Providence 64 8.5 Feelings on Safety in Downtown Providence 66 8.6 Whether Downtown Providence has Become More Attractive, 67 Entertaining, Safe Since the City’s Establishment of an Arts and Entertainment District and Focus on the Arts 8.7 Whether Neighborhoods (Outside of Downtown) Have Benefited From 67 the City’s Development of an Arts and Entertainment District and Focus on the Arts v! Arts and Urban Revitalization From the Perspective of Providence’s Arts Organizations 1! CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO ARTS-BASED STRATEGIES FOR URBAN REVITALIZATION AND THE ROLE OF ARTS ORGANIZATIONS! ! In recent years, there has been growing interest in arts-based strategies for urban revitalization (Americans for the Arts 2007; Jackson and Herranz 2002, 2006; Jackson and Kabwasa-Green 2007; Markusen 2005; Markusen and Johnson 2006; Strom 2002; Landry 2000; Florida 2002). Less has been written about the perspective of arts organizations on arts-based revitalization or how important it is to their mission and operating strategies (Hendon, Shanahan and MacDonald 1980; Strom 2002). This thesis explores the perspective of arts organizations in the context of Providence, Rhode Island. Providence is a good case for this investigation because its arts-based approach to redevelopment has been widely acknowledged for revitalizing the urban core, increasing tourism, and bringing residents back to a city that had experienced decline typical of other mid-sized, industrial localities (Americans for the Arts 2007, Grant 2006, Leazes and Motte 2004, Kay 1999). My study investigates the role of the city’s pillar arts organizations (Jackson et al 2006) with respect to key claims about the arts as a catalyst for social, economic, and physical revitalization. As a social catalyst, the arts have been shown to have the ability to improve quality of life, strengthen social ties, encourage civic engagement and provide inspiration and enjoyment to residents. Economic impacts include the ability of the arts to function as a growth industry that supports jobs, generates government revenue and tourism. Physical impacts include beautifying and animating public spaces and cities, stabilizing and upgrading neighborhoods and occupying formerly vacant or underused buildings. This project also examines the question of whether the city’s efforts have expanded beyond the Arts and Entertainment District to benefit residents in other neighborhoods. 2! Research methods included a characterization of the local arts universe (Filicko and Lafferty 2002) based on an analysis of a database of arts organizations compiled by ProvPlan, selected interviews with key actors, and a case study of one organization, AS220. AS220 is the ideal critical case for the project because of its ongoing commitment to revitalization and the community in addition to its focus on all types of arts. Key Findings The characterization of the local arts universe found that the largest numbers of the active organizations fell into the categories of cultural and ethnic, galleries and music. Over half of the organizations had a core mission of something other than the arts. The overwhelming majority of the organizations were located outside of the Arts and Entertainment District, the center of the city’s arts-focused revitalization plan. I found that only about half of the organizations listed in the ProvPlan directory were still active. This finding points to the value of collecting information directly from the arts organizations and those who participate in their activities. The interviews with key actors in arts organizations affirmed that public safety, economic impact of arts organizations, issues of displacement and exclusion from revitalization, turning points in Providence’s revitalization story, the Arts and Entertainment District and city government’s support for the arts are pertinent to the organizations’ contributions to revitalization. Viewpoints were varied on the issue of public safety; some interviewees did not view safety as an issue to their users, while others indicated that arts organizations contributed to perceived public safety by increasing numbers of people out on the streets. A number of interviewees stressed the economic impact of arts and arts activities—including the generation of economic activity around the city, and the multiplier effect—both of organizations themselves 3! who employ people, pay for services, as well as of arts patrons who attend events, buy art and eat in restaurants. On the topic of displacement and exclusion, interviewees discussed the goal of providing affordable housing to artists and the inclusion of people in the renaissance who might otherwise have been excluded. Interviewees viewed the city’s high profile capital projects as having a dramatic impact on the city and acting as an important turning point in the city’s revitalization story. About the Arts and Entertainment District, interviewees felt that it was important as a public relations effort that attracted national attention and put a frame on the city. Interviewees felt that city government could do more—financially, but also simply by implementing policies that are supportive to the work of the organizations and individual artists. The discussions about challenges were mainly tied to funding and the difficulty in identifying and maintaining diverse funding sources without a strong base of corporations in the state. Through the interviews, I found inconsistency between the perspective of city officials who planned the arts strategy and that of the arts organizations involved in producing the art. The city saw the strength and value of the arts organizations and harnessed that energy and used the arts as public relations for the city. According to the artists, the role of the arts organizations in the city’s revitalization was more of an accident than a plan that had been devised. Although the organizations seemed to care about revitalization, they stressed that it is not their main purpose. The survey of audiences of AS220 events found that the majority of respondents are young, white and local. Survey respondents did not reflect the diversity of Providence residents as a whole. Most respondents engage in economic activities such as also eating in a restaurant while attending arts programming. Respondents were supportive of arts as a strategy to instill feelings of pride and involvement in the city. They also demonstrated the effect of arts in building social capital by indicating that 4! attending arts programming is a good way to meet people
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