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.
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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
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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
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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
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Arts and Urban Revitalization
From the Perspective of Providence’s Arts Organizations
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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.
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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 they may not otherwise encounter.
Significance of Findings
While art, not revitalization, is the main objective of the organizations, the perspectives of members and patrons suggest that the organizations can also be an effective revitalization tool in a city’s toolkit as part of a comprehensive revitalization strategy. Many arts organizations in Providence have the ability to provide physical, economic and social benefits to the city. These findings also indicate that the organizations’ potential contributions and impacts could be more effectively leveraged towards revitalization if their efforts were better supported.
Outline of the Thesis
The next chapter reviews the literature about the contributions of arts to revitalization, strategies for arts-based revitalization, externalities and other limitations of arts-based strategies, and the role of arts organizations. The review of the literature is followed by an exploration of the question of why it is useful to examine Providence, the goals and strategies of the city’s revitalization, previous revitalization efforts, the
Arts and Entertainment District and evidence of what has worked in the past. The following chapter offers a characterization of Providence’s arts universe based on an analysis of a database of the city’s arts organizations assembled by ProvPlan, a joint venture of the City of Providence, State of Rhode Island and the private sector. The chapters that follow provide details of research methods for the project, findings from interviews with organizations and other key actors, details of the case study of AS220 and survey findings as a way to demonstrate the view from the audience. The final
5! chapter is comprised of conclusions and recommendations for further research and practice.
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CHAPTER TWO: ARTS-BASED REVITALIZATION: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Increasing attention has been paid to the role of art and artists as catalysts for economic and social revitalization of cities. Reflecting a shift in attitudes about the arts and impact on cities, Hendon et al. (1980) write, “The question of what the economy can do for the arts has been reversed to what the arts can do for the economy” (295). Much has been written about what artists contribute and what cities can do to promote the arts and culture, but there is still more to learn and explore about the perspective of arts organizations and their role in promoting revitalization.
Research has only just begun to investigate arts-based strategies for revitalization, and there are a number of theories about contributions made by the arts and the associated benefits. This chapter provides a review of the literature on the contributions of the arts to urban revitalization, including physical, economic and social benefits. It looks at the strategies for arts-based revitalization as well as the strategies employed by cities to attract and retain arts industry, organizations and individual artists. It presents the limitations of arts-based revitalization in an attempt to explore the question of who benefits. Finally, it examines the literature on arts organizations specifically in contrast with individual artists, arts districts and facilities.
Contributions of the arts to revitalization
Every day, the country’s nonprofit arts and culture organizations are making their communities more desirable by providing inspiration and enjoyment to residents, beautifying public places, and strengthening the social fabric (Americans for the Arts
2007). The arts and culture-based initiatives have the ability to contribute to urban revitalization by improving physical aspects and by providing economic and social benefits. Jackson and Herranz’s (2002) review of the literature suggests that
7! participation in arts, culture, and creativity at the neighborhood level has potentially important impacts including: supporting civic participation, acting as a catalyst for economic development, improving the built environment, and augmenting public safety.
Physical benefits
The arts and artists impact physical aspects of an area by reusing unused or under-used buildings for live/work space and by beautifying and animating public spaces and cities themselves. Artists play multiple roles in stabilizing and upgrading neighborhoods through their presence, beautification of space and their active community engagement (Markusen 2005). Arts centers contribute to the vitality and safety of their immediate neighborhoods by bringing in artists and audiences who increase foot traffic and occupy and beautify formerly vacant buildings (Markusen and
Johnson 2006).
LINC (Levering Investments in Creativity), a ten-year national initiative to improve the conditions for artists working in all disciplines, highlights the physical impacts of artists’ space developments such as reducing and improving blighted areas, beautifying space, animating and revitalizing vacant or neglected property, providing multipurpose community facilities, increasing pedestrian and automotive traffic, preserving historic buildings and contributing to place making efforts.
Jeremy Nowak (2007) associates community development with place making and argues that artists are natural place-makers. He places community-based arts and cultural activities within a larger architecture of community and argues that these activities reinforce place making by fostering economic exchange, enlivening civic life, producing public assets and reinforcing the connections between places.
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Economic benefits
American cities have rediscovered and are now reinvesting in their cultural resources as it has been found those resources have the ability to bring life to and have an economic impact on downtown areas, particularly after business hours. There has been a shift in perception from seeing the arts as a luxury to being considered and presented as an explicit part of a city’s economic revitalization strategy (Strom 2002).
During the past two decades, city officials have learned to value the historic communities that their predecessors have been eager to raze; have dubbed desolate, derelict warehouses ‘arts districts’; and have committed local tax dollars to their museums and performing arts complexes, many newly built or recently expanded (Strom 2002, 3).
Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America, has produced the most comprehensive economic study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted in the United States, entitled
Arts & Economic Prosperity III. The study demonstrates that the nonprofit arts and culture industry is a significant economic driver that generates $166.2 billion in economic activity every year and results in $29.6 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues in these communities. The arts are thus a growth industry that supports jobs, generates government revenue, and is the cornerstone of tourism (Americans for the
Arts 2007, 3). Americans for the Arts’ report Arts & Economic Prosperity III specifically discusses tourism and the finding that arts and culture travelers have been shown to spend more money, stay in hotels and travel for longer periods of time, as compared to other types of travelers (2007).
Richard Florida coined the phrase Creative Economy to describe what he sees as the explosion of creativity in urban areas since 1950. Florida argues that people decide where to live by balancing a combination of labor markets, lifestyle, social interaction, diversity, authenticity and identity and argues that there are a number of forces that have combined to bring people and economic activity back to urban centers. In many
9! cities, the scales have now tipped from revitalization to gentrification and displacement
(Florida 2002). There is space in the literature to explore the impact of arts organizations, as opposed to focusing solely on the impact of individuals.
In the postindustrial era, the urban center was faced with the challenge of finding a way to secure its economic future. With a clear preference for the central city over suburban locations, the arts industry has the ability to make direct and immediate contributions to the local economic base (Hendon et al 1980, 299). Arts organizations make these economic contributions as employers, producers, consumers, members of the chamber of commerce, and key participants in the marketing and promotion of their cities and regions (Cohen et al 2003). In addition to the immediate economic contributions, there is also a far-reaching multiplier effect of spending by arts organizations as they pay salaries, purchase supplies, and contract for services. These actions then support local jobs, create household income and generate revenue for local, state and federal governments (Cohen et al 2003, 17). Finally, there is also event-related spending by audiences, which generates commerce for local businesses. Patrons at arts events pay to park their car in a garage, purchase dinner in a restaurant, often make other purchases (art as well as other items) and finally, return home to pay the babysitter (Cohen et al 2003).
Arts have also been shown to benefit urban neighborhoods. The presence of artists is often able to stabilize neighborhoods and lessen the risks that would have otherwise been taken by developers, thereby easing further development in the area
(Nowak 2007). Charles Landry (2000) depicts artists as regenerators who find their way to interesting but often run down areas, “The artist in effect is the explorer and the regenerator kick-starting a gentrification process, bringing life to run-down areas and generating the development of support structures such as cafes, restaurants and some shops” (125). The arts can have a significant impact on property values, as evidenced by
10! a study referenced by Markusen and Gadwa (2009) that found property values in North
Adams, Massachusetts, increased by twenty percent following the conversion of an old textile mill into a large arts center, MASS MoCA (382).
Social benefits
Arts and culture can also provide social benefits to a community, including improving the quality of life for residents, strengthening social ties and encouraging civic engagement, stabilizing and upgrading neighborhoods, and providing inspiration and enjoyment to residents. Jackson and Herranz (2002) write of the lack of research that speaks to how arts and cultural participation contribute to social dynamics. The report, Cultural Vitality in Communities: Interpretation and Indicators, is an effort to develop concepts, tools and language necessary to integrate arts and culture into quality of life measures. Jackson and Herranz define cultural vitality as, “the evidence of creating, disseminating, validating, and supporting arts and culture as a dimension of everyday life in communities” (2006, 13). Cultural vitality is made up of the presence of opportunities for cultural participation, cultural participation itself, and support for cultural participation. Jackson explained the importance of the indicators project by saying that those concerned with neighborhood revitalization could not do their best work without including arts and culture (Jackson, Maria Rosario, “Making the Case for
Arts and Culture: Why Focus on the Arts When Job Creation and Affordable Housing are so Pressing?” Speaker Series at MIT, Cambridge, MA, April 7, 2010).
Social capital is one of the development impacts of community arts and culture,
“neighborhood art institutions and public cultural events are workshops of civic culture in the same way as cafés, community centers, libraries and sports leagues. They are places where people learn to be neighbors through public engagement and recognition”
(Nowak 2007, 8). The Boston Foundation reports that the impact of small-scale and
11! neighborhood-level arts organizations and cultural activities should not be underestimated, as they have the ability to strengthen social ties and connect residents and artists in a way that encourages civic engagement (The Boston Foundation 2002).
Strategies for arts based revitalization
The contributions and benefits listed in the previous section can be attributed to the presence of the arts in cities. This section explores strategies that cities have proactively adopted and employed to attract artists and the arts.
Attracting individual artists
To attract and retain artists, cities have to identify ways to be supportive and offer incentives. Some strategies include offering affordable housing and workspaces, low-interest loans, tax incentives, health insurance, and assistance with marketing and advertising. By providing artistic space, cities can help recruit and retain artists as a core that will then attract businesses and other individuals. When artists were asked why they chose to move to or stay in a region, they cited amenities (parks, health care, etc.), foundational support for the arts, networking and marketing possibilities, the presence of artist-employing industries, and artists’ centers, studios and live-work spaces. To cities hoping to attract and retain artists, some suggestions include creating artists’ clubhouses or centers as a place for collaboration and equipment sharing, etc.; investing in live/work and studio spaces; and opening smaller scale performing arts spaces such as theaters and dance venues (Markusen 2007).
Richard Florida argues that to attract creative people, cities need to provide a people climate, which means supporting creativity and building a community that is appealing to creative people. There are a number of reasons why people and economic activity have started to return to urban areas. Crime is down, cities have become the
12! prime location for the creative lifestyle, cities are benefiting from demographic shifts as people are staying single longer, and finally, cities have remerged as centers of creativity and incubators of innovation. The presence of a major research university can also be an advantage to attracting and retaining creative people. Universities have proven to be centers for technology, attractors of talent, and places of tolerance (Florida
2002, 287-293).
Cultural districts
One way in which cities have utilized arts as a revitalization tool has been to focus arts resources and attractions within a cultural district: a well recognized, labeled, mixed-use area of a city in which a high concentration of cultural facilities serve as the anchor of attraction (Frost-Kumpf 1998). Cultural districts can boost urban revitalization by beautifying and animating cities, providing employment, attracting residents and tourists, complementing adjacent businesses, enhancing property values, expanding the tax base, attracting well-educated employees, and contributing to a creative, innovative economy. Arts and culture districts can concentrate state resources in an area where local communities are prepared to undertake significant cultural development work to achieve positive outcomes (NGA Center for Best Practices 2009).
Critics of cultural districts argue against clustering cultural activities, and believe that they should instead be dispersed among neighborhoods to include and provide the greatest benefit to larger numbers of more diverse groups of people (Markusen 2006).
Tax policies
Because cities have seen that the arts and the designation of arts districts can be a way to encourage economic activity, many have begun to look at ways to provide incentives for artists to create creative clusters. Incentives can include providing tax
13! breaks and credits, residential and studio units for artists and low-interest loans and grants for developers who commit to renovating abandoned buildings within an Arts and Culture District. Legislation can be passed to provide property tax credits for the construction of arts-related spaces, exemptions from state amusement and entertainment taxes and income tax exemptions for work produced and sold by artists residing in the district (Grant 2006 and NGA Center for Best Practices 2009).
Externalities and Other Limitations of Arts Based Strategies
The topic of gentrification arose with frequency in the literature on the topic of arts-based revitalization and there are a couple of diverse viewpoints. While some of the literature focuses on artists displacing lower-income residents in urban neighborhoods, other literature focuses instead on the artists who are displaced by the wave of residents that typically moves in after an area has been revitalized, “many artists, along with other lower-income residents are displaced when property taxes and rents begin to rise along with the incursion of higher-income residents attracted to the buzz that artists create in neighborhoods they have helped to renovate” (Markusen
2005).
Many argue that that cultural redevelopment often leads to commercial exploitations—artists are displaced and the affluent move in. New York’s SoHo neighborhood is often used as an example of a place that used arts as a catalyst in revitalization and whose artist population was priced out of their lofts and neighborhoods in the 1970s (Mulcahy and Swaim, 1982). Miles (1997) quotes artist
Martha Rosler about SoHo, “artists were a pivotal group in easing the return of the middle class to that area, although artists themselves were displaced by the wealthy clients who followed them into the newly chic neighbourhood” (107).
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Critics of Florida’s work claim that the creative economy generates inequality and displacement. One argument raises the exclusivity of the creative class status in that it is limited to those with higher educational attainment (Markusen 2005). Critics have shown the dark side of the creative class theory by demonstrating that cities with a larger creative talent pool are also likely to have greater income inequality. This income inequality is a reflection of the consumption habits of the creative class and the increased demand for personal services that fall on the low end of the urban wage scale
(food preparation, dry cleaning, housekeeping, etc.). Florida claims that income inequalities can be addressed through greater creative class leadership—such as helping the service classes to express their creative energy. Donegan and Lowe (2008) write that the strategies have to be more concrete and should include living wage coalitions to increase minimum wage, legal support for union organizing in service industries, and support for immigrant work centers that would improve skills and offer career placement and advancement opportunities. Florida disagrees, claiming that these types of strategies stifle creativity (Donegan and Lowe 2008).
Opposing perspectives claim that there is a lack of evidence demonstrating that the creative class drives economic growth and development more effectively than more traditional methods. One study compared Florida’s measures against more traditional economic development strategies and found no more positive economic outcomes with the creative class hypothesis (Donegan and Lowe 2008). The study warns against using scarce public resources towards policies based on Florida’s concepts, as the results may not live up to expectations. The authors recommend that cities not substitute traditional economic development strategies entirely for the recruitment of the creative class, but instead look at the full picture that also includes the promotion of business development and the support of regional innovation systems (Donegan and Lowe
2008).
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The role of arts organizations
The majority of these studies focus on artists, their activities, the facilities in which they present their work to the public, and cities’ strategies for encouraging artists and the arts in general. Much less has been written from or about the perspective of arts organizations specifically.
There is certainly evidence in the literature of the importance of larger cultural institutions, such as museums. Elizabeth Strom (2002) writes of the importance of cultural institutions to contemporary revitalization efforts in US cities, but her discussion is centered only on high arts institutions such as opera, museums and performing arts centers. Strom points out that the prestige of high arts institutions has been long recognized as having the ability to bring economic benefit to an area. New
York’s Lincoln Center and Washington’s Arena Stage are two examples of institutions that were built on tenement housing as part of urban renewal strategies (2002, 6).
Strom’s discussion neglects to take into account the wide range of arts organizations that exists in US cities.
The role of arts organizations in urban revitalization is not yet been fully understood, and the voice of arts organizations is lacking in the literature. As previously discussed, while much of the literature is centered on the large, well- established cultural institutions, there is significantly less information about smaller nonprofit arts organizations. It is important to examine a community’s cultural landscape with a wide lens and to look at festivals, parades and arts markets in addition to conventional cultural venues, such as museums, theaters, concert halls and parks
(Jackson and Herranz 2006).
Our research points to the necessity of paying attention to the many different kinds of organizations that exist and the specific roles they play in fostering different aspects of cultural vitality in communities—
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nonprofit, public and commercial; those with large, mid-sized and small budgets; those that are concerned primarily with the presentation of professional artwork; those that are artist-focused and critical to professional artists’ careers; those that seek to preserve tangible and intangible history and culture; those that seek to enable the invention of new forms of artistic and creative expression and those that seek to advance and validate both amateur and professional arts practice (Jackson and Herranz 2006, 15).
Nonprofit arts organizations, in particular, are poised to fill the role of contributing to revitalization (Filicko and Lafferty 2002). Specifically, the mission of smaller, sometimes unconventional nonprofit arts organizations includes increasing the availability of the arts, improving education, enlightenment and entertainment, contributing to community cohesion and improving the quality of life. In contrast to commercial entities, nonprofit organizations tend to focus on social issues and on improving the quality of life for individuals and communities. “Institutions with nonprofit status have declared themselves to be working for community benefit rather than personal profit… This explicit link to the community becomes important in the discussion of the public purposes served by the arts across our communities” (Filicko and Lafferty 2002, 190).
This project looks at the role of arts organizations in Providence, Rhode Island’s revitalization. It investigates the extent to which the arts organizations and participants in their activities see themselves contributing to promoting economic activities, improving the physical appearance of the city, fostering social connections and civic engagement, and shifting people’s attitudes about Providence, considering the whole city as well as selected areas and population groups.
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CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS
I have based my investigation of the role of arts organizations in urban revitalization on a study of Providence, a city that is known both for its revitalization efforts and its active artists’ community (Grant 2006; Kay 1999; Leazes and Motte 2004;
Markusen 2006; Schamess 1996). The study focused on the perspective of the arts organizations themselves and employed a composite of several research methods.
Research methods included a characterization of the local arts universe, interviews with prominent actors in Providence’s arts scene and a case study of AS220, one of the city’s pillar organizations (Jackson et al 2006). This multiple-pronged approach provided insight into the perspective of Providence’s arts organizations.
The characterization of the local arts universe was based on an analysis of a database of arts organizations that was compiled by ProvPlan, a nonprofit organization that was formed as a joint venture of the City of Providence, State of Rhode Island and the private sector. ProvPlan’s efforts are aimed at improving the economic and social well being of all city residents.
Interviews were conducted with prominent actors in Providence’s arts scene.
This included five of the city’s pillar arts organizations that have community in their mission: AS220, WaterFire, Trinity Repertory Theater, Providence Performing Arts
Center (PPAC) and Black Repertory Theater. I also interviewed Community Music
Works, an organization whose work focuses on the West and South Ends of Providence, and Cliff Wood, city councilman and former director of the City’s Department of Art,
Culture and Tourism.
With the exception of the interview with Sebastian Ruth from Community Music
Works that was conducted by phone due to scheduling conflicts, all were conducted as face-to-face interviews. The interviews were semi-structured in format, and a copy of the interview questions is included as Appendix C. The interview plan and questions
18! were submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and were excluded from review.
I transcribed the interviews, created excerpt files (Weiss 1994, 155-156) and analyzed the interviews according to the themes that arose.
To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the role and perspective of arts organizations in Providence I selected AS220, one of the city’s pillar organizations, to examine in greater depth. As part of the case study, I distributed a survey to the audiences of two of AS220’s most popular recurring programs, Empire Revue and Free
Speech Thursdays: Open Mic Night. The two are dissimilar programs that are representative of AS220’s focus on original art, music and expression and would likely attract different audiences.
The survey asked participants a range of questions to gather information about their experiences with and perceptions of arts organizations and Providence’s revitalization. The survey asked recipients about their attendance habits at programs at
AS220 as well as at other area organizations; spending behaviors (eating in restaurants, staying in hotels); thoughts on safety in the downtown area; and feelings on whether other neighborhoods have benefited from the city’s interventions and focus on the arts.
Once I had compiled the survey data, I examined associations between variables, but I did not find much that was statistically significant. I describe these methods in further detail in the subsequent chapters.
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CHAPTER FOUR: PROVIDENCE’S APPROACH TO ARTS BASED REVITALIZATION
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND AS A CASE
Why Providence?
Providence, Rhode Island, has adopted and embraced arts-based strategies as a way to promote revitalization in the city. Providence is a good case for investigating arts-based revitalization because it is fairly typical of medium-sized cities that experienced decline and it has experienced remarkable revitalization. Efforts have included bringing people back to the city center, reinvesting in the urban core, and increasing tourism. Providence has a history of reshaping itself—to accommodate railroads, by covering and then later uncovering and moving rivers, and most recently through the city’s focus on the arts and establishment of an Arts and Entertainment
District and branding and marketing the city as the “Creative Capital” (City of
Providence Creative Capital website).
Florida writes about the power of place and the Creative Class’ desire to have a role in shaping the quality of place in their communities in telling of an experience addressing a downtown revitalization group in Providence. During the session, a thirty-something year old professional captured the essence of the power of place, “My friends and I came to Providence because it already has the authenticity we like—its established neighborhoods, historic architecture, and ethnic mix” (Florida 2002, 32).
Goals and Strategies: The Arts and Entertainment District
In his 1995 Downcity Plan written for Providence, architect and urban planner
Andres Duany outlined his plan for an arts and entertainment district for Downcity that would take advantage of the rejuvenated Trinity Repertory Theater, the upgraded
Providence Performing Arts Center, and the nearly completed Rhode Island
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Convention Center. Duany contributed to opening up the development process to new ideas, particularly the notion that the city could pin part of its development future on higher education, tourism, and the arts while protecting its urban character (Leazes &
Motte 2004).
The city’s Arts and Entertainment District encompasses the area of downtown
Providence bordered by Sabin, Empire, Pine and Dorrance streets.
Figure 4.1—Providence’s Arts and Entertainment District
Source: Google Maps, accessed October 19, 2010, http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=1070834967381640
03267.000487c5a1743100c3237&z=16.
The City of Providence designated an Arts and Entertainment District as a way to boost urban revitalization. This approach aims to beautify and animate downtown
Providence, provide employment, attract residents and tourists, complement adjacent
21! businesses, enhance property values, expand the tax base, attract well-educated employees, and contribute to a creative, innovative environment (Frost-Kumpf 1998).
Previous revitalization efforts have included strategic land use planning and making alterations to the city’s physical landscape by “depaving” the city and uncovering the
Woonasquatucket and Moshassuck rivers which had been previously covered by highways that had been woven through downtown Providence.
One piece of the strategy of Providence’s Arts and Entertainment District is tax incentives for artists living and working within the district that exempt them from payment of state and income taxes for art produced and sold within the district. Tax credits are also available to real estate developers for transforming unused space to housing. To support artists and the functioning of the district itself, Providence also created a cabinet-level department of Art, Culture and Tourism. The director of the department acts as an advocate for the interests of artists and arts organizations, leads promotional efforts for the arts and tourism industry, identifies sources of funding for cultural endeavors and works with other agencies to remove roadblocks and help encourage artistic and economic initiatives (Grant 2006).
The city’s plan not only adopts the principles of arts-based revitalization described in the previous chapter, but there is evidence that the city’s arts-based revitalization strategies have also yielded physical, economic and social outcomes.
Evidence of What Has Worked
Over the past twenty years, downtown Providence’s appearance has improved dramatically. Infrastructure projects in the city have resulted in improved roads, traffic circulation, and pedestrian walkways. In addition, the city’s rivers have been uncovered and are now conducive to boating and walking along their banks. There has been new construction and restoration of older buildings and commercial retailing has returned.
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There is evidence of arts as a factor in Providence’s revitalization. Economic benefits include direct and immediate contributions to the economic base. The arts industry also participates as employers, consumers, producers and members of chambers of commerce. The arts industry is a key participant in marketing and promotion of cities and regions. The industry also contributes to the multiplier effect of spending by arts organizations and participants, makes contributions to tourism, and makes real estate development more attractive and less risky.
Arts and cultural activities in Providence contributed far more to the local economy than the national average. At $111.81 million in annual economic activity,
Providence’s arts and cultural sector ranked second among cities of similar size in total economic activity. The total spending is comprised of spending by non-profit arts and cultural organizations ($40.63 million) and event-related spending by audiences ($71.18 million). The arts and culture sector ranked third in number of full time equivalent jobs
(2,759), and second in state and local tax revenues ($11.08 million). Americans for the
Arts’ study, Arts & Economic Prosperity III also found that audiences attending arts events in Providence spent more than three times the national average at restaurants, bars, parking garages, and other businesses (Americans for the Arts 2007).
While the city still has room for further improvement, social benefits can be seen through the increased quality of life for urban residents, the strengthening of social ties, encouragement of civic engagement, and improvements to community cohesion; and finally, by providing inspiration and enjoyment to residents (Leazes and Motte 2004,
210-239). Physical benefits include the reuse and renovation of unused or underused buildings for art spaces and the beautification of the city and its public places
(Markusen 2005). There is literature on these findings, but the findings cannot always be fully substantiated.
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The Role of Arts Organizations in Providence
Much of what we know about Providence and its arts revitalization strategies is focused on the arts generally and citywide interventions, especially the Arts and
Entertainment District, as opposed to arts organizations specifically. This project examines the role and contribution of arts organizations in Providence. It looks to answer the question of whether arts organizations see that they have a role in improving the city, how they conceive of that role and how this conception relates to that articulated by the city and by proponents of arts-based revitalization. Finally, it examines the question of beneficiaries to the city’s revitalization, and whether the benefits have extended to the entire city or are centered solely in downtown
Providence.
Conclusion and Chapters to Follow
The chapters that follow will provide a detailed description of my investigation of the contribution of arts organizations to Providence’s revitalization. In the next chapter I provide a characterization of Providence’s Arts Universe through an analysis of ProvPlan’s database of Providence arts organizations. The three chapters that follow provide gleanings from a series of interviews with key actors in Providence’s arts scene, the case study of AS220, and the findings from the survey that was distributed to audiences.
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CHAPTER FIVE: CHARACTERIZATION OF PROVIDENCE’S ARTS UNIVERSE
To understand the role and contributions of arts organizations in Providence, it was necessary to take a closer look at the city’s “arts universe” (Filicko and Lafferty
2002). I analyzed a database of the city’s arts organizations to characterize the organizations in relation to information gained from the review of the literature, and as part of an overall evaluation of the city’s local arts universe and its potential as a basis for arts-based revitalization. I supplemented missing information from the database with additional details from the organizations’ websites.
In 2006, the Providence Plan (ProvPlan) compiled the database that consists of over three hundred arts organizations including a wide range of both non-profit and for-profit organizations. To start, ProvPlan contacted the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) to obtain all that they had listed for arts organizations in the State.
RISCA’s list was then merged with existing lists of organizations: two separate lists that had been kept by ProvPlan and one from the city’s Arts and Tourism Council. ProvPlan then deleted all overlapping entries and sent the list out to arts contacts in the city to see if any had been missed, or if any of the organizations were no longer in existence.
ProvPlan also searched online and/or called any organizations that they were unfamiliar with, and deleted those with no web mention or with a disconnected phone.
The list was then sent back to the list of arts contacts for a final review.
Although ProvPlan compiled the database, they did not analyze its composition.
Whereas the ProvPlan compilers refer to the list as one of arts organizations, the actual focus of the organizations was close to split on the arts vs. other issues. Somewhat more than half of the active organizations (100 or 58%) had a core mission of something other than arts (history, religion, etc.), while 73 (42%) had arts (performing, visual, etc.) as their core mission. ProvPlan explained that they had not used a specific definition of
“arts organization” when compiling the list. It appeared that any organization could be 25! listed, even if its main focus was something other than the arts. I was not able to find an agreed upon, universally accepted definition of arts organizations in my review of the literature. Thus, for the purposes of this project, I decided to focus solely on non-profit arts organizations, as they have shown to be more likely to have community-oriented missions and to focus on social issues and on improving the quality of life for individuals and communities (Filicko and Lafferty 2002). I looked at these organizations in contrast to larger, conventional cultural organizations, such as museums. I also focused on organizations whose missions focus on community. For-profit arts organizations, such as galleries, may also play a role in revitalization, but they are outside of the scope of this project.
Of the 303 organizations in the database, the largest numbers of organizations represented fell into the following categories: cultural and ethnic (20%), galleries (17%) and music (12%) as opposed to visual or performing arts or other types of organizations. I found that 173 out of the 303 (57%) organizations in the database had a visible online presence. Lack of online presence could indicate that the organization is too small without the resources to build a website, they are not interested in public exposure, or that the organization is no longer in existence and therefore not maintaining a website. I considered a web presence to be an indicator that the organization is active. The finding that just under half of the organizations in the database were no longer active raises the question of sustainability and turnover rates of arts organizations in Providence.
Despite the City’s downtown arts focus and designation of an Arts and
Entertainment District, I found that the overwhelming majority of the 173 active arts organizations—154 or 89%—were located outside of the Arts and Entertainment District and only 17 (10%) were located inside the district (the location for two was unknown).
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Table 5.1—Active Providence Arts Organizations Included in the ProvPlan Database No. % (N=173) Core mission/arts 73 42% Nonprofit 115 66% For-profit 51 29% Public/city 3 <1% Public/state 3 <1% Nonprofit with community in mission 23 13% Inside Arts and Entertainment District 17 10% Outside of Arts and Entertainment 154 89% District *There were 173 active organizations out of the full database of 303 organizations.
Of the 73 organizations with arts as their core mission, I found 23 public and nonprofit organizations that referenced a goal of affecting the community within their mission. I determined that five of these were prominent, or pillar organizations (Jackson et al 2006), those that are highly visible and active, whose mission is specifically centered on the arts and for whom community is a part of their focus. The five pillar organizations have been active for over a decade. Providence’s pillar organizations also function as the anchors for the downtown Arts and Entertainment District. Jackson, et al describe pillar organizations as those that are “particularly significant in fostering diverse kinds of cultural activity and participation…usually organizations that have been active for a decade or more and combine some and often all of the following characteristics: (a) involvement in the development of community-based events, (b) relationships with local artists as well as the large cultural venues concerned primarily with the presentation of professional work, and (c) long-standing connections with local parks, schools, community centers, etc. that sponsor community arts and cultural activities” (2006, 5). I found six of the organizations to be city or state actors, and that two (Spaces for Peace and Opera Providence) of the remaining twelve organizations fell outside of the scope of this project. While Spaces for Peace has a functioning website, it appears to have mainly outdated information, with the most recent event having taken place in 2006. The organization’s website mentions the use of art, but its main objectives
27! are centered on creating a culture of peace. While Opera Providence’s website mentions the word community, the focus of the mission is on inspiring audiences through experiences with opera.
Excluding the two organizations that fell outside of the scope of the project resulted in a list of twenty-one public and nonprofit organizations with community in their mission. The organizations represent the following categories: fairs and festivals, youth arts, dance, arts service, arts center/venue, theater.
Just under half (43%) of the organizations on this short list are located inside the city’s Arts and Entertainment District, where the city’s efforts are focused, much of the recognition of the city’s revitalization is directed and where tax exemptions are offered.
WaterFire takes place in the river that is located just outside the boundary of the official district. It is worthwhile to note that this is a greater proportion than within the larger set of organizations found in the database.
The remaining organizations from the list are located in other parts of the city where there might be fewer resources, but where the cost for space may be lower and where they might be more accessible to the areas and people they are serving, among other reasons. The highest average price for real estate in Providence can be found in downtown Providence and in neighborhoods located northeast of downtown (College
Hill, Fox Point, Wayland, Blackstone and Hope) (Trulia Real Estate Search). In addition to cost, accessibility to the populations served by an organization can also be extremely important. For example, Community Music Works is located in Providence’s West End, providing the organization access to the populations it serves in that neighborhood.
I further sorted the list using two categories:
1. organizations that produce art vs. support artists (acknowledging that
these are not mutually exclusive);
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2. organizations that provide a site/venue or are facilitators of action (and it
does not matter where they are located)
I found additional information for the majority of the nonprofit organizations on the short list. I was able to locate founding years for nineteen of the twenty-one organizations on the list, all of which were founded more than five years ago, and fourteen were founded over ten years ago. All of the pillar organizations were founded over ten years ago. I was able to find financial information for fifteen of the twenty-one organizations. Nine of the fifteen organizations have budgets over $500 thousand, while six have budgets under that amount. Five have budgets over $1 million. In addition to being the oldest organizations in the city, the most active, visible pillar organizations also have among the largest budgets in the group. All but one of the pillar organizations
(Black Rep, $973,962) have budgets over $1 million. This is likely to also explain, in part, the difficulty I had reaching and setting up interviews with some of the smaller organizations. With larger budgets, and presumably more dedicated staff, the pillar organizations might be more able to diversify their efforts—even if this simply means they have the time to reflect on their activities during an interview with me.
Table 5.2—Characteristics of Arts Organizations With a Community Mission No. % (N=21) Pillar organizations 5 24% City/state actors 6 29% Other nonprofits with community in 10 48% mission
Orgs that do/produce art 9 43% Orgs that support art/artists 11 52% Both do/produce and support 1 5%
Orgs that provide a venue 10 48% Orgs that facilitate action (w/out a specific venue) 2 10% Both 1 5% Unknown 2 10% N/A (city/state organizations) 6 29%
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Ten of the organizations provide a venue, two facilitate action, one organization does both, two were unable to be categorized and the city or state organizations did not fit into these categories.
Examining ProvPlan’s database illustrates the challenges of using this type of data as a sole indicator of arts presence or to judge the strength or prominence of the cultural universe. Without supplementary information, it would be hard to know how long a database such as this would be a reliable source of data. If one wanted to use this database to get a sense of arts presence in the city, it might not be possible to get the anticipated results, depending on what types of organizations were intended to be included in the count, or how wide a net one had planned to cast.!!
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CHAPTER SIX: INTERVIEWS WITH PROMINENT ACTORS IN PROVIDENCE’S ARTS SCENE
Interview Strategy
To learn about the arts organizations’ perspectives on their contribution to the city’s revitalization, I sought to interview a sample of the community focused nonprofit organizations. The objective of the sample was to represent a variety of types of organizations—including type of arts (performing, visual, etc.), locations (both inside and outside of the Arts and Entertainment District) and a range of influence (pillar organizations to smaller neighborhood organizations).
I contacted each of the organizations with community listed in their mission
(with the exception of those organizations that were deemed not to fit into the scope of the project, Spaces for Peace and Opera Providence) to request an interview. Two of the organizations with community in their mission responded to my request: The Steel
Yard and Community Music Works. I interviewed Sebastian Ruth, Founder &
Executive-Artistic Director of Community Music Works, whose work focuses on the
South and West Ends of Providence.
I also contacted each of the five prominent pillar arts organizations with community in their mission: AS220, WaterFire, Trinity Repertory Theater, Providence
Performing Arts Center, and Black Repertory Theater. On the recommendation of some of the early interviewees, I was able to interview Cliff Wood, a city councilman and former director of the Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism as a representative of the city and state actors listed in the ProvPlan database. The interview plan and questions were submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and was excluded from review.
The more established pillar organizations responded quickly and I had little difficulty setting up interviews. Once I moved to the next tier of organizations, it
31! became clear that setting up the interviews was going to be much more difficult than I had anticipated. I had expected that organizations would be very willing to talk about their role in the city’s revitalization and I was surprised by the low response rates and receptiveness to my requests for interviews. In many cases, I never heard back from people despite several inquiries. In other cases, after multiple requests from the organizations to reschedule our appointments, I was never able to confirm a meeting time.
My interpretation of this challenge is that many of the smaller, less-well- established organizations have limited resources, time and staff to do the work they are committed to doing and do not have the extra bandwidth to also focus and reflect on their role in the city’s revitalization. This may also be an indication of how intentional their contributions to revitalization are. In addition to the interviews, the selection of
AS220 as a critical case was made because of its ongoing commitment to revitalization and improvement of the entire city, the feasibility of observing and distributing surveys during their programming, and the organization’s enthusiasm about the project.
Gleanings from Interviews with Prominent Actors in Providence’s Arts Scene
Public safety
Interviews suggest that arts organizations contribute to the city’s revitalization by enhancing arts patrons’ sense of public safety. They voiced that their activities draw people to otherwise desolate areas in the downtown area. Arts leaders attribute the increased feelings of safety in the city to increased patronage at restaurants, attendance at theaters and numbers of people shopping in the city’s downtown stores. They also suggest that an increased feeling of safety benefits arts activity and attendance at arts events and programs.
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Interviewees talked about safety or a perception of improvements in safety in the city of Providence. Bert Crenca felt that safety was not really relevant to AS220 users.
He explained that the organization’s users are urban people who like the urban setting and want to be a part of improving downtown Providence and making it more safe.
They want downtown to be a “happening place.” Crenca noted that AS220 attendees are more comfortable being downtown than patrons at the Providence Performing Arts
Center (PPAC) or at the Dunkin Donuts Center (Providence’s Civic Center) might be.
PPAC and the Dunkin Donuts Center are destination oriented—audiences come in to the city, park and go to that specific location (Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
Lynn Singleton from the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) described the subscriber base as older, white, and educated, and explained that many of them are afraid to come downtown. Singleton said that the subscribers want to “…participate a little in urban experience, but they don’t want to get too gritty.” He suggested that the city could protect its brand and encourage people to visit and return downtown by making sure that cars do not get broken into while people are parked on city streets
(Personal communication, May 14, 2008). Crenca contrasted PPAC’s audiences with
AS220’s attendees who might see coming to downtown Providence itself as their destination. He said that the two organizations attract different audiences with different comfort levels (Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
As a member of the Downtown Improvement Board, Crenca reported that the overall feeling on that board is that people do not feel safe in downtown Providence.
Both Crenca and Marro talked about the violence that takes place in downtown
Providence as being after-club violence that happens when patrons are drunk and rowdy, and that incidences of violence around AS220 are minimal (Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
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Both Michael Gennaro from Trinity Repertory Theater and Barnaby Evans, creator of WaterFire, illustrated the claim that participation in arts events has resulted in larger numbers of people out on Providence streets, which has increased the overall feeling of safety in the city. Evans referred to Jane Jacobs’ The Life and Death of Great
American Cities, and the term “eyes on the street,” in speaking of one of the goals for his installation of WaterFire—getting people out on the streets of downtown Providence at night. During a 1997 meeting to raise interest in and funding for WaterFire, Evans explained that the installation was “…intended as a piece to get Americans to get out of their car (to) walk and enjoy an urban landscape…what they’re seeing for the first time is Americans in public places without being in their cars” (Mingis 1997).
Michael Gennaro contrasted one of his early memories of Providence when there were very rarely people downtown past 5:00pm and when one “…could have rolled a bowling ball down Empire/Washington Street,” to a more recent experience of being downtown on a night with multiple arts events—FooFest (an AS220 event), sound stages and WaterFire—taking place around the city. Gennaro said that with all of the activity, he felt completely safe, even on deserted streets (Personal communication,
March 20, 2008).
Councilman Cliff Wood, who was also the first director of the Department of
Arts, Culture and Tourism, talked about the improved quality of life in the city, and the claim that increased feelings of safety have resulted in higher rates of use for restaurants, theaters and shopping. This increased feeling of safety would also benefit arts activity and improve attendance at arts events (Personal communication, July 15,
2008).
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Economic impact
Providence’s arts organizations play a critical role in creating economic activity and bringing visitors to the city. Five of the interviewees talked about economic development and impact in the city. Councilman Cliff Wood felt that because
Providence has become a more attractive city, more activity and economic activity has been generated (Personal communication, July 15, 2008). Lynn Singleton of PPAC was critical of the city’s support of the organization in general. He cited PPAC as the largest attractor of visitors to Providence outside of the zoo, and felt that as a major contributor it does not get enough support from the city. Singleton spoke of the multiplier effect of attendance at arts programming, “If your date takes you to Jersey Boys, he’s going to take you to dinner, out for a drink. It’s more of an experience. If you go to the hockey game, you’re going to eat nachos in that building” (Personal communication, May 14,
2008). Singleton explained that the economic impact of PPAC is far-reaching, because a one-week show comes to the theater and brings over two hundred people who will go to restaurants, stay in hotels, and generate press for the city. Singleton shared an economic impact study that was presented to the State of Rhode Island House Finance
Committee on April 1, 2003, that reported the generation of millions of dollars per year in the state’s economy (Personal communication, May 14, 2008).
Barnaby Evans, the creator of WaterFire, also talked about the economic impact of WaterFire on the city of Providence (Personal communication, April 12, 2008). An economic impact study of WaterFire’s 2004 season reported that it attracted over 1.1 million visitors (more than half from out of state) to Providence, its direct economic impact was $33.2 million, and its long-term total sales economic impact was $40.5 million (WaterFire Economic Impact document). The WaterFire Providence 2007 Fact
Sheet cites it as the leading tourist and arts attraction in Rhode Island.
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Displacement and Exclusion
Issues of displacement or exclusion from the city’s renaissance and arts organizations’ ability to address these issues came up in three of the interviews. Bert
Crenca from AS220 explained that downtown Providence had never been residential, so the situation has been a bit different than places where an indigenous community gets displaced. He talked about Providence’s specific situation—where the issue of cost of living is complicated by the fact that there are no jobs and no industry. As an organization, AS220 is trying to address these issues by developing affordable live and work space for artists where one has to make less than $25,000 per year to qualify
(Personal communication, April 11, 2008). AS220’s website states that the organization
“…seeks artists who demonstrate a serious commitment to their creative work and a genuine need for affordable space” (AS220 Live/Work Studios). In addition to live/work spaces in AS220’s main facility located on Empire Street, the organization has most recently acquired and renovated the Dreyfus Hotel that was built in 1890, and most recently served as a dormitory for Johnson & Wales University. The Dreyfus now offers twenty live and work studios for artists.
WaterFire’s Barnaby Evans also talked about the challenges to Providence’s artists and explained that most have moved to Pawtucket (located north of Providence) because they can no longer afford Providence. Barnaby felt that Providence had always hoped for developers and offices and to become more of a capital city, while Pawtucket never expected that. He felt that Pawtucket was more sincere, engaged, and proactive in helping its artists, while in Providence one had to fight to get attention, support, funding, and permission (Personal communication, April 12, 2008).
Sebastian Ruth, founder of Community Music Works, spoke directly to the question of inclusion in Providence’s revitalization when he asked, “…who’s in the
Renaissance and who isn’t?” Community Music Works’ focus is on the West and South
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Ends of the city, and Ruth questioned whether the arts theme has extended into those areas and to immigrant communities. Sebastian sees Providence as being, and always having been, a stratified city. The Community Music Works mission seeks to address these issues and strives to create a cohesive urban community by strengthening bonds between people using music education as the vehicle (Personal communication, May 15,
2008). Cliff Wood, councilman, disagreed, saying that people from outside of downtown come into the city all the time and are feel connected to it by using it for restaurants and theaters (Personal communication, July 15, 2008).
Turning point
Four of the interviewees talked about the impact of Providence’s major capital projects as a turning point in the city’s revitalization story. Bert Crenca from AS220 described the moving of the rivers as “such a bold gesture, positive symbolic gesture, beautification—you can’t underestimate the power of the built environment and the influence on the psychology of a people.” Crenca described the turning point as a combination of the high profile capital projects, the underground activity of artists, and the work of the preservationists (Personal communication, April 11, 2008). Lynn
Singleton, President of PPAC, and Michael Gennaro, Executive Director of Trinity also saw the moving of the rivers as an important turning point for the city. Michael
Gennaro contrasted the place he remembered to the city he found when he moved to
Providence in 2007. The last time he had visited Providence was 1990, when the downtown streets were deserted after 5:00pm. When he returned in 2007, he felt that the major capital projects (a mall, towers going up, the Westin, the river, renovation of
PPAC, moving of train station) had all resulted in a dramatic impact in not that long a period of time (Personal communication, March 20, 2008). Barnaby Evans also agreed that the city’s investment and huge public works project of moving the rivers and
37! building WaterPlace Park had a significant impact on the city. Evans continued to explain that he felt that there were a number of elements that all together marked a turning point in the city: schools/universities turned outward, rivers were moved, political interest in capitalizing the arts was raised by Cianci, the preservation movement gained momentum and there was an explosion of restaurants. WaterFire came along when all of the others were cresting, and put a name and focus on it
(Personal communication, April 12, 2008).
Arts and Entertainment District
For the most part, interviewees seemed to feel that the Arts and Entertainment
District did more for public relations by improving the city’s image and offering tax incentives for historic renovations than it did to help support artists. Barnaby Evans felt that while designating the district was a good idea, he was not sure the Arts and
Entertainment District had, in fact, helped artists. He did feel that it had helped the city and that the filmmaking tax credit and historic renovation credit has also had a huge impact. Having said that, he went on to say that while the filmmaking credit brought films in to the city, it did not necessarily mean that they hired local people, as the city had hoped. He said that the historic tax credit was probably too generous and it put an organization like AS220 in the same pool as someone who was renovating his or her house (Personal communication, April 12, 2008). Trinity’s Michael Gennaro also felt that the historic tax credits played a large part in building up renovation and new areas of downtown. He felt that Buff Chase, a prominent Providence developer and owner of
Cornish Associates, would say that without the tax credits there would be no
Westminster Street (Cornish is the developer and owner of the Westminster Lofts, and has reintroduced a number of retail stores and restaurants to the area, including: Design
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Within Reach, Butterfield, Tazza Café and Bravo Brasserie) (Personal communication,
March 20, 2008).
Lynn Singleton described the Arts and Entertainment District as a nice frame— and that by framing, a perception has been placed in people’s minds that there is a nice district. He talked about Providence’s needing to solve what he described as “the hole in the donut,” which he describes as the area bordered by Westminster, Dorrance,
Fountain and Empire streets. He expressed frustration over the amount of development that has happened “inside the donut,” when not one coffee shop or bar has opened in the area around PPAC (Personal communication, May 14, 2008).
About the Arts and Entertainment District, Bert Crenca, Founder and Artistic
Director of AS220, said that the District…
…got national public attention [and] began to create the idea that Providence is an artist friendly city. [It] did two things, encouraged kids from RISD to hang out longer after graduating [and] put us under magnifying glass. Now we’re under a microscope, are we really this? How do we live up to this image that is being created? We know that it’s not completely really real, but how do we make it real? (Personal communication, April 11, 2008).
He said that the creation of the district raised the bar and was a critical moment and was one of a number of turning points. “For artists like myself, it encouraged me to invest here—my time, resources (my mouth is my resource). That was a key moment”
(Personal communication, April 11, 2008). Crenca felt that there was more the city could do to encourage and support the involvement of arts organizations by creating a nurturing environment by putting policies in place that protect affordability of space, create bike paths and other artist friendly infrastructure. Cities can create environments that encourage creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship without trying to predict the outcome (Personal communication, April 11, 2008).
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City government
All of the interviewees talked about their views on government and their thoughts on whether there was more the city could do to support arts organizations in
Providence. Singleton focused on the need for a dedicated arts funding source from the city, and expressed disappointment that there are no restaurants or bars in the immediate area around PPAC. Singleton claimed that the revenue generated from the meals and beverage tax that is charged by all eating and drinking establishments in the state went into the general fund of the city, when instead it could have been used to make things happen around PPAC (Personal communication, May 14, 2008).
Michael Gennaro, from Trinity, also talked about both support from city government and the need for funding for arts organizations, “In terms of the mayor’s support, it’s extraordinary. He truly believes in the arts as an economic engine, I think he enjoys the arts, he shows up for all of our, everybody’s, not just ours, but everybody’s events.” Gennaro acknowledged that support, or lack thereof, from the city is not the only answer or problem facing arts organizations, and instead sees the challenge to arts organizations as three pronged: fiscal problems in the state, a shrinking base of corporations that call Rhode Island home, and an older citizenry with a fixed income. Gennaro explained funding from the city is a difficult issue because the state’s fiscal problems trickle down, and the money that goes to Trinity comes through governmental or quasi-governmental agencies and through RISCA, which gets money from the state. The concern is that cuts in the state budget will limit all of the funding going to arts organizations (Personal communication, March 20, 2008). Sebastian Ruth also talked about arts funding as precarious. He said that Community Music Works gets a small portion of money from the city, in the form of $2000-3000 mini-grants, and a slightly larger chunk through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grants
40! that are administered through City Council and Federal money (Personal communication, May 15, 2008).
Councilman Cliff Wood, who first held the title of Director of Arts, Culture and
Tourism for the City of Providence gave his perspective from the point of view of the city government and talked about the challenges of working for the newly formed, understaffed and underfunded department. The Department of Arts, Culture and
Tourism replaced the former Office of Cultural Affairs, which had had a more limited scope and was responsible only for programming downtown. The newly formed department would now be responsible for programming downtown, putting on festivals, receiving and administering grant money, and programming the rest of the city. In addition, the department would be responsible from a policy point of view for the economic development aspects of the arts in the city, and it also held a tourism responsibility. The department was expected to accomplish incredible things with very few resources (Personal communication, July 15, 2008).
Lynn Singleton at PPAC talked about Providence as a brand that had been reinforced by the TV show and capitalized by Mayor Cianci, who used the brand as his platform (Personal communication, May 14, 2008). Barnaby Evans talked about
Providence’s Renaissance and said that it was part PR and part real, “…I think the city is doing well and the arts have done a lot to help identify and rebrand it.” About former
Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci, Evans said,
…despite Buddy’s stories, he didn’t have much to do with it [the Renaissance that had started after major capital projects]. Once he saw its value…Cianci has a very good sense of politics, PR, publicity, did a tremendous amount for the city by talking it up….That is a very important aspect of this city-salesmanship. Downside is tends to always have to put his name all over it…As consequence, people get annoyed because Cianci tends to take credit for everything. There is a saying ‘success has many fathers, failure is an orphan.’
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Evans continued to say that the last three administrations have all understood the importance of the arts, while before that point the city showed no interest in the arts. He also noted the limitations of Providence’s potential tax revenue compared to Western cities, such as Austin, Texas, where tax districts encompass larger areas (Personal communication, April 12, 2008).
Both Barnaby Evans and Bert Crenca talked specifically about city government showing support in a broader sense than solely financially. Evans said that the city and administrations have valued preservation and arts communities, and have to be good partners, even though they often do not have the resources. He feels the city has been a good partner to arts organizations and has been creative in their support, even without having a lot of money. When I asked Crenca if there was more the city could do to support arts organizations, he said “AS220 Stinktank/Compost Theory. That’s my response.” Bert Crenca and a handful of “Stinktank” members wrote a paper called
“Compost and the Arts,” that gave three examples to illustrate the recent history of
Providence’s Art Scene: Shep Fairey’s studio, Fort Thunder, and AS220, all of which are places where artists can come together, show their work, and where there is always something happening. “They are places of cultural ferment. One can think of the conditions that produce art as akin to a compost pile. Compost contains a little bit of everything, all mixed up, and decidedly not neat. But everything in the pile contributes to the final product: rich soil in which to grow your vegetables” (Crenca et al 2004).
Crenca’s feeling is that cities can support the arts by creating a nurturing environment and by putting policies in place that help protect and create infrastructure that is artist friendly (bike paths, etc.). He said, “…cities, within the letter of law, can be more or less restrictive… I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say that having that liquor license is important to the sustainability of our performance space and organization.” He talked about postering and signage, “…some cities want to clean that up, but my God!
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That’s what represents life and activity—artists’ way of inexpensively communicating.”
He continued to say that there are
…a lot of ways that the city, without trying to predict the outcome, can create environments that encourage creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, activity and cross-pollination, artists and different genres, artists and technology…Ways that that can be done without being intrusive, without being fearful (Personal communication, April 11, 2008).
He felt that cities can act fearful in their laws surrounding art and artists, which is the absolute wrong strategy, as the “...noisiest artists often the most invested and caring, that’s why they’re making so much damn noise. You can either be defensive and resist and repress, or encourage them and create an environment where you’ll have another generation of reactionary new artists…” (Personal communication, April 11, 2008).
Challenges to organizations
The conversations about challenges facing the organizations were closely tied to city government and funding. Michael Gennaro felt that the most difficult issue is that of Rhode Island’s attractiveness as a home for the corporate world. Because there are not many corporations based in the state, there is a shrinking base of funding sources.
Another of Trinity’s challenges is the state’s older citizenry, whose fixed income reduces their ability to designate money for the arts. Gennaro acknowledged that on a national scale, cities and states are moving away from funding for the arts. He said that Trinity’s future will depend on doing a better job at fundraising. He explained that the organization built itself on getting funding from a small group of very wealthy individuals, but the organization needs to broaden their base to protect itself as that group either moves out of the state, or gets older and eventually passes away (Personal communication, March 20, 2008).
Sebastian Ruth from Community Music Works also talked about creative ways to secure funding for arts organizations. He explained that his organization has received a
43! chunk of its funding through CDBG grants, administered through the City Council.
These grants are for community development, and he feels that it is right where it needs to be. Ruth continued to say, “…arts funding is precarious…the idea of being tied to other funding streams is important for our sustainability” (Personal communication,
May 15, 2008).
Barnaby Evans explained that many of the challenges facing WaterFire are also centered on funding. He contrasted the WaterFire model with other arts groups that might make 60-70% of their funding from a source and have to fundraise for the rest, while WaterFire has to raise 100% of funds. Evans talked about the economic activity that surrounds WaterFire and the expenses that are often not recognized (insurance, police, firewood, boat maintenance, labor). He explained that part of the challenge is that he wants WaterFire to unfold in a way that people do not notice all that is happening in the background, and the piece will instead quietly unfold without any sense of effort, but this model results in additional challenges for the organization
(Personal communication, April 12, 2008).
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CHAPTER SEVEN: AS220, AN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO THE ARTS, THE CITY OF PROVIDENCE, AND ITS PEOPLE
To get a more comprehensive understanding of the role of arts organizations in
Providence’s revitalization, I selected one organization, AS220 to examine in greater depth. AS220 is the ideal critical case for the project because of its focus on community, operation within the Arts and Entertainment District, long time existence in downtown
Providence, the focus on a wide variety of media, and most importantly, the organization and its leadership’s ongoing commitment to revitalization. To investigate
AS220’s contribution to revitalization, I interviewed Bert Crenca, founder and artistic director; talked to others within the organization; attended staff and board meetings; visited facilities; reviewed media accounts of the organization; attended events; and distributed a survey to the audiences of two programs within the timeframe of 2008-
2010.
History and Mission
AS220’s mission is to function as a home for the arts whose facilities would be open to all Rhode Island artists and where all performances would be unjuried, uncensored and open to the public. In addition to providing a venue for Rhode Island artists to present their work, the organization’s focus and goals have always been about working towards the measures that are critical to community building and revitalization of an area. A document written by AS220’s director, Umberto Crenca and a number of others who were part of a group that called itself the “Stinktank,” describes
AS220 as an, “intentional community, its values and practices designed to encourage experimentation and innovation, reaction and response” (Crenca et al 2004, 4). AS220’s primary purpose is to create opportunity and to ensure cultural vitality and quality of place by providing opportunity for creative exchange. AS220 was designed to create a
45! dialogue amongst artists, and also between artists and the community. AS220 functions as an incubator both for artists as well as for other non-profit organizations, and has been a catalyst for Providence’s renaissance. The authors write, “AS220 is one of the forces ensuring that arts and culture hold a central place in our rapidly developing and revitalizing capital city” (Crenca et al 2004, 5).
Founded in 1985 by Umberto (Bert) Crenca, AS220 is a non-profit community arts center that got its start on the unheated third floor of the Providence Performing
Arts Center. The space became a “…successful rendezvous for the ‘Tragically Hip.’
Artists and performers gravitated serendipitously to the space. People gathered and shared coffee, ideas, stories and craft. Bands were created; theater groups were born”
(AS220 website). From AS220’s original home at 220 Weybosset Street, to a rented space on Richmond Street, and finally in March of 1993, the organization signed an interest free loan agreement with the City of Providence to purchase three adjoining buildings at 95-121 Empire Street. Crenca is careful to point out that AS220 has been strategic about its physical location—it is important to the organization to be in a prominent, highly visible downtown location (Personal communication, April 11, 2008). Today’s
AS220 includes the Empire Street location as well as the Dreyfus Hotel (purchased by the organization in April 2005), and the Mercantile Block (purchased in 2008). As AS220 celebrates its 25th Anniversary, it also celebrates $20 million of investment in downtown
Providence (Rourke, 2010). The Empire Street Complex houses the bar and restaurant, performance space, galleries, live/work studios, Broad Street Studios, and Perishable
Theater. The Dreyfus is home to AS220’s main offices, the community print shop, a gallery, fourteen live/work studios and four work studios, as well as a restaurant that rents a space on the ground floor, Local 121. The Mercantile Block includes revamped retail spaces for current tenants of the building, a restaurant space, the relocated print
46! shop, indoor bike parking, office space, the expanded Fab Lab (fabrication and folk technology), and residential artist studios.
AS220’s Activities and How They Relate to Revitalization
Bert Crenca has long been committed to the revitalization of downtown
Providence and plays an important role in community efforts across the region. Crenca has served on the Providence School Board, the Arts, Culture and Tourism Advisory
Board, the Steering Committee for the Creative Providence Cultural Assessment and
Planning Initiative and on the board of the Providence Downtown Improvement
District. He also travels to other cities and countries to promote ideas of arts-based revitalization and advise other communities.
Community Building
AS220’s approach and goals focus on downtown Providence and the Arts and
Entertainment District as well as the city as a whole and its aim is to be a place that is open and welcoming to all. The organization aims to be supportive and build community amongst artists, and also function as a place that makes art accessible and encourages community building within the community at large. Crenca explains that the organization’s work serves a greater community purpose than solely focusing on downtown because it is a comfortable venue in which people from communities surrounding downtown can participate. Crenca sees the role of downtown as a place of intellect, for commerce, to convene, exchange ideas, debate and discuss. “If the downtown isn’t representative of diversity, then it’s not functioning the way it originally did and not fulfilling its purpose…WaterFire, Black Rep, AS220, Sound
Session are really helping to create diverse ownership in the downtown. If that becomes anything less than that, I don’t even want to be there” (Personal communication, April
47!
11, 2008). AS220’s diverse programming reflects its goal of being open and accessible to a wide variety of audiences. Its programs are also conducive to investigating theories about economic and social behavior and changes in perceptions about the city.
Crenca spoke to me about the essence of art and culture in Providence as something that is worked into the very fabric of the city. He talked about the difference between arts and culture in larger cites as compared to smaller (Providence-sized) cities.
He has found that larger cities tend to have pocketed activities—an underground scene, the bigger cultural organizations in little niches without much overlap. In smaller cities, there will be a pocket that begins to generate activity with a lot of overlap, and that in
Providence it is impossible not to overlap. Crenca feels that top-down arts initiatives are not going to work—it has to be a collaborative process. The players who have become important in arts revitalization lean on each other, and have to hustle to make things happen. Crenca sees intimacy in Providence where he sees a great deal of isolation in other communities.
Crenca sees the smaller downtown arts organizations such as AS220 and Black
Rep as serving a greater community purpose because they are accessible, comfortable venues in which people from communities surrounding downtown can participate. He feels that downtown has the opportunity to be a neutral ground where everyone feels comfortable (Personal communication, April 11, 2008).
One of the keys of AS220’s focus on community is the diversity and participatory nature of many of the events and programs. For example, Free Speech Thursday/Open
Mic Night is open to audience participation; Crafternoon opens AS220’s space to the public, who bring projects to work on and discuss with others; and FooFest is AS220’s yearly festival that attracts people of all ages with participatory booths that encourage creativity, learning and exploration, musical performances, etc. Additionally, AS220 purposefully prices its programs in a way that encourages accessibility and attempts
48! not to exclude people. The organization is also intentional with the scheduling of its programs, and organizes the events calendar in a way that encourages repeat attendance and ongoing interaction between attendees.
Economic Development
AS220 supports the economic development and sustainability of other organizations by acting as an incubator and providing space and resources to younger, smaller organizations. Over time, Crenca has also worked with other organizations to encourage them to buy their space, freeing them from the constraints and uncertainty of leasing.
I talked to Crenca specifically about the restaurant at AS220 as an economic strategy, as having its own restaurant means that additional revenue that might be spent outside of the organization now has the potential of being spent on the premises.
Crenca said that the bar and restaurant bring in $600K of the organization’s $1.9M budget. He also talked about the importance of the cross promotion that takes place between the performance space and the bar and restaurant (the two spaces are connected). Crenca told the story of a doctor whose first visit to AS220 was when he found his way into the bar to have a glass of wine, and became so interested in the organization that he soon after joined the board. Crenca talked about the importance of the restaurant to the organization because it provides very public access with very few barriers. Marro commented that especially at lunch, there are all types of people who eat at the restaurant. She said that it is not unusual to see business people in suits in the restaurant, as they have found it to be an interesting, inexpensive, high quality place to have lunch. Crenca felt that most people who go to the bar and restaurant are also attending events or programs at AS220. He felt that it was a minority of people at the
49! bar or restaurant who have never attended a program at AS220 (Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
Physical Factors
AS220 has been strategic about its physical location, as it is important to the organization’s mission and goals to be in a visible downtown location (Personal communication, April 11, 2008). Crenca reflects on the importance of the organization’s relocation from its original site to the Empire Street location. When AS220 moved to the
Empire Street location in the early 1990s, the area was overrun with the drug trade and prostitution, and the building was in disrepair—Crenca recalls blood on the sidewalk from bar fights. The sweat equity that was invested into the Empire Street location may have been a small project in the grand scheme of AS220’s history, but it was an important symbolic gesture, as volunteers brought positive activity to the area— moving things in and out of the building, carrying out trash, etc. People saw the activity and the press picked up on it (Personal communication, April 11, 2008). The organization has continued to invest resources into the rehabilitation of downtown buildings, as it expanded in the Empire Street location, later purchased and renovated the Dreyfus Hotel and most recently acquired the Mercantile Block, both located on
Westminster Street.
AS220 Events
Popular events at AS220 include bands, gallery openings, FooFest, New Years
Eve/Bright Night, Action Speaks, Broad Street Studios, film nights, life drawing,
Cutting Sessions and Crafternoon. I spoke to Bert Crenca and Xander Marro about which events and programs were the most well attended, and they talked about
FooFest as having the highest attendance rates (5000-6000), but noted that the event
50! only takes place once a year. Originally started in the 1980s as the Marathon Cabaret, and followed by Fool’s Ball in the 1990s, FooFest is “one part concert, another part crafts workshop, one part art show, another part block party. Mix in some ethnic food, vintage clothes and anarchist books and you get a one-of-a-kind street festival”
(Kuffner, 2009). FooFest fills Empire Street with interactive art installations, games and local artists showcasing and selling art, and twelve hours of original music. Bert Crenca describes FooFest as an annual celebration of the Rhode Island arts community. FooFest encourages active participation of people of all ages, with a number of booths and activities set up for children, including painting piñatas or building musical instruments.
Crenca and Marro talked about being strategic with their bookings of the performance space. While the space is unjuried, and any Rhode Island artist can perform at AS220, the organization is careful to book bands that are popular and will fill the space on Friday and Saturday nights (Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
AS220 hosts a number of bands each week—often multiple bands in a single night. In a one-week span, the AS220 calendar advertised bands ranging from hip-hop, rock, indie pop, folk Americana, a one-man band, melodic experimental, Irish traditional and a band that describes itself as a “psychedelic, noisy blues project/dance party.” In most cases, there is a cover charge for bands. AS220 has a number of different gallery spaces throughout the building, with the main gallery walls surrounding the performance space in the Empire Street building. The galleries change every couple of weeks, and the openings are free. I attended a gallery opening in the Empire Street complex, with artwork installed on the walls of the main performance space. The experience of attending a gallery opening at AS220 was quite different than the other programs because it only took a few minutes to walk through the gallery, whereas attendees would likely spend more time at other types of events. The gallery opening
51! was also a more private event, in that it felt that there was less opportunity for interaction with other attendees than there might have been at other programs.
Bright Night Providence is an artist-run arts festival that takes place on New
Year’s Eve. AS220 participates in Bright Night with a number of offerings throughout the evening to appeal to a wide range of audiences. Entrance to Bright Night events is granted with a wristband that allows access into a number of venues. Wristbands for
Bright Night 2009 were $15 each.
Action Speaks is a series of contemporary topic-driven panel discussions framed by the theme “Underappreciated Dates that Changed America.” The discussions are recorded at AS220 on Wednesdays in October, National Arts & Humanities Month, and then rebroadcast on NPR on Sundays. Host Marc Levitt, a writer, storyteller, educator, radio and TV host, filmmaker and land use activist invites guest panelists for what is described as an “old-fashioned community exchange.” Since 1995, the goal of Action
Speaks is to provide, “high-quality, intellectually unbiased discourse between scholars, artists, students and citizens” (Actions Speaks website). The evening I attended, the topic was “1951: The Birth of Levittown,” and the panelists spoke about and responded to questions about suburbs and sustainability.
Programming by Broad Street Studios, AS220’s youth program, is wide ranging and showcases the work of the youth that participate. Broad Street Studio’s year-end showcase featured hip-hop, photography, visual arts, fashion, design and dance. Broad
Street Studio (BSS) employs and engages Rhode Island youth in arts workshops, with an emphasis on those recently released from the juvenile detention facility or under the care of the Department of Children, Youth and Families.
Films are screened at AS220 during the organization’s film nights. Unlike some of the other AS220 events, Film Nights are not scheduled on a regular basis. Life drawing offers participants a weekly opportunity to bring drawing materials to AS220
52! to sketch from a live model for $6. Cutting Sessions is a jazz program that gives jazz musicians of every level a venue to display their talent. Cutting Sessions takes place every third Thursday of the month, and there is a $5 entrance fee. Crafternoon is a free monthly happening that takes place on Sunday afternoons that provides a venue for people to bring their craft projects to work on with others.
Table 7.1—Types of events at AS220 Event/Program Frequency Cover charge Free Speech Thursdays Weekly $4 Empire Revue Monthly $8 Bands Very frequent, multiple $10 and under times per week Gallery openings Approximately twice per Free month FooFest Yearly $5 Bright Night Yearly (New Year’s Eve) $15 wristband for access to multiple events and venues Action Speaks Weekly in October and Free November Broad Street Studios Varied Varied Film nights Not scheduled on a regular Varied basis Life drawing Weekly $6 Cutting Sessions Every third Thursday of the $5 month Crafternoon Weekly Free
Observation of AS220 Board and Staff Meetings
AS220’s Board of Directors is made up of representatives from youth programs, the private sector (real estate agencies, lawyers, companies), other arts organizations, artists and art teachers/professors. During the meeting I attended, staff members updated the board on what is happening with AS220—programming, fundraising, changes in employee benefits and the status of open positions within the organization.
Updates were also given to the board on the status of the Mercantile Block project,
AS220’s most recent acquisition that is planned to be a mix of live and work studios, arts related offices and local retail and commercial space.
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Visit and Tour of Facilities
I had the opportunity to visit the AS220 facilities and meet a number of staff members working in various areas ranging from development to youth programs to the cottage industries/labs. Throughout the visit, Crenca stressed to me that AS220’s mission is not solely about city revitalization, but it is to provide a forum for the arts and a community for artists, and sometimes their activities are actually contrary to the city’s efforts and plans. This was illustrated during the visit by one of the employees in the Cottage Industries/Labs who showed off his current project, a logo for “Bizarro
Providence,” which inverted the “P” from the city’s “Creative Providence” logo, designed for use by the Department of Art, Culture and Tourism.
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CHAPTER EIGHT: THE VIEW FROM THE AUDIENCE
This chapter conveys what I learned directly from the audience at two of AS220’s most popular recurring events to illuminate the experience of Providence residents and their views on the role and contributions of the city’s arts organizations.
The survey was used to gather information from event attendees about their experiences with and perceptions of arts organizations and Providence’s revitalization.
The survey included a set of questions about arts organizations and programs: identifying the types of events or programs participants attend at AS220 and the frequency with which they attend those programs; whether participants attend programming at arts organizations other than AS220; whether participants also do other things when attending arts programming (eat in restaurants, shop, etc.); how participating in programs makes survey recipients feel about Providence; and whether participants attend programs at arts organizations to meet new people. It also asked a set of questions about thoughts and feelings on Providence: perceived safety in the downtown area; thoughts on whether the city has become more attractive, entertaining and/or safe over time; and whether other neighborhoods have benefited from the city’s interventions and focus on the arts. Finally, it asked for background information on recipients to help offer context to their responses. A copy of the survey is included in the appendix. The survey was submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and was determined to be exempt.
I administered the survey to the audience of two events—Free Speech Thursday:
Open Mic and Poetry Slam and Empire Revue—because they are dissimilar programs that would likely attract different audiences. Both are regularly scheduled on-going programs on AS220’s calendar that both encourage relationship and community building and both are representative of AS220’s focus on original art, music and expression. Free Speech Thursday is a participatory event that is open to public
55! involvement. Empire Revue is a Cabaret style program that brings together a variety of performers and styles. The events are representative of AS220’s audiences overall—
Xander Marro, AS220’s Managing Director, described the two events as the organization’s “bookend events,” with Free Speech Thursday generally attracting a younger audience and Empire Revue attracting older audiences, as compared to other
AS220 programs. Crenca felt that if surveys were distributed at all of the organization’s programs, the results would be different for each. Attendees at other events would most likely fall between the two age ranges (found at Free Speech Thursday and Empire
Revue), and attendees at Geek Dinners would be on the higher end of the age range
(Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
Characteristics of Respondents
The survey response rate for the two events combined was 27%. It was substantially higher for Free Speech Thursday (71%) than for Empire Revue (12%).
Although attendees were receptive at both programs, the setting was more conducive to administering a survey at Free Speech Thursday for a variety of reasons: the hosts of the program were extremely supportive and made an announcement to attendees explaining the survey and encouraging them to fill it out; during intermission, the lights were on and there was time for people to fill out the survey. During Empire Revue, most attendees seemed to know others in the audience so spent the time before the program began talking to people. Additionally, during the program, the house lights are lowered so it was quite dark in the audience, making it impossible for people to fill out surveys. I have reported on the survey results from both events and indicated the differences among them where they are relevant.
I analyzed the survey results by looking at the following themes: the characteristics of the respondents; the frequency of their participation in arts events in
56!
Providence; their economic activity connected with arts participation; and their social behaviors and perceptions. I looked at tests for association between variables using
SPSS and found that the numbers were likely not large enough to result in statistical significance between variables.
Consistent with AS220’s goal to engage the local community, the majority of the audience is local and reflects the diversity of the city. Approximately half of the respondents were Providence residents and an additional 30% live in Rhode Island (for a total of 79% living in Rhode Island). Respondents represented a wide range of neighborhoods from those with the highest median incomes to those with the lowest in the city.
The audience was relatively young; the largest age group represented is 22-34 year olds and 73% of respondents were under the age of 34. Because of the large influx of college students, 20-24 year olds make up the largest cohort in Providence (ProvPlan website, People and Demographics and Providence Total Population). There were slightly more women among the respondents than men (54%/38%, with 8% of respondents leaving the question blank). Citywide, Providence residents are 47.8% male and 52.2% female (ProvPlan website, Citywide and Comparisons). 68% of respondents identified themselves as being white and 14% black (Asian, Haitian and African made up the remaining percentage of known races). The races reported by the respondents in the sample do not reflect those found in the city of Providence. Providence is now a majority “minority” city where non-Hispanic white people make up less than 50% of the city’s population. Ten of the city’s neighborhoods are more than 60% minority. The city is nearly one-third Hispanic, and four of the neighborhoods are majority Hispanic.
Providence has 17% of Rhode Island’s total population, but 44% of the state’s Asian population, 54% of the Black population, 57% of the Hispanic population, and 37% of the Multi-racial population in the state (ProvPlan website, Census Quick Facts Sheet).
57!
During a conversation with Crenca, he stated that he feels responsible for reflecting
Providence’s changing demographics. It is important to him that AS220 work towards reflecting the city’s demographics to make people feel comfortable and feel ownership of the place.
For the full data set, the neighborhoods represented ranged from those that are among those with the highest median incomes (Blackstone) to those that are among the lowest in the city (parts of Federal Hill). Xander Marro was surprised to see the turnout from the Silver Lake neighborhood, but we talked about the percentage as compared to the small sample size, meaning that one or two respondents can make a big difference in the percentages. She commented that the majority of the AS220 mailing list is located in the 02907 (south of downtown), 02908 (west of downtown) and 02909 (north west of downtown) zip codes (ProvPlan website, Median Household Income 2000).
As stated above, the majority of the respondents live in Rhode Island (either in
Providence or another city). Providence residents were asked to specify the neighborhood in which they live. When examining the variables, the numbers did not demonstrate an association between living in Providence and attending AS220 events and programs with frequency. AS220 programs may attract both local residents as well as those living outside of Providence, but it does not appear that local residents are more involved than the outsiders.
The median household income of the neighborhoods represented by respondents was $34,325 (determined using median household income by neighborhood), as compared to the city’s median household income of $26,867 (ProvPlan website, Maps and Rankings: Economics). The median household income in the state of Rhode Island is $42,090. About the income levels represented in the sample, Bert Crenca felt that the
“poverty was very consistent” (personal communication, May 28, 2010). Crenca felt that the income levels represented were very consistent with AS220 attendees in general. He
58! commented that there are typically very few people with significant means at any of the programs. He mentioned Geek Night as an exception, as it tends to attract an older audience with a slightly higher income. He also mentioned that people at the restaurant and bar might have slightly higher income than those solely attending programs
(Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
As expected, respondents at Free Speech Thursday were considerably younger than those at Empire Revue. Xander Marro, AS220’s Managing Director, felt that the difference in average age between the two events was accurate. Somewhat more of the audience at Free Speech Thursday was local and came from the less affluent neighborhoods of Providence. This may be related to the younger age ranges represented at the event, as compared to Empire Revue. The audience at Free Speech
Thursday was also more racially diverse than the audience at Empire Revue.
At Free Speech Thursday, 88% of respondents were under the age of thirty-four.
This could be a possible bias; as such a large portion of the respondents from this event was so young. 60% of respondents identified themselves as white and 20% black (Asian,
Haitian and African made up the remaining 20%). While respondents at Free Speech
Thursday were equally split between male and female, this was not the case at Empire
Revue where eight (67%) respondents were female, two (17%) male, and two (17%) left the question blank. Bert Crenca felt that the skew of male/female at Empire Revue was not typical, and that in general, he would expect the gender balance of the audience at that event to be more equal (Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
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Table 8.1—Demographics of Survey Respondents All Free Speech Empire Respondents Thursdays Revue Median household income, determined $34,325 $33,360 $28,674 by neighborhood
Location No. % No. % No. % (N=37) (N=25) (N=12) Inside Providence 18 49% 14 56% 4 33% Outside of Providence, inside of RI 11 30% 6 24% 5 42% Outside of Rhode Island 7 19% 5 20% 2 17% Blank 1 3% 1 8% Totals 37 100% 25 100% 12 100%
Sex Male 14 38% 12 48% 2 17% Female 20 54% 12 48% 8 67% Blank 3 8% 1 4% 2 17% Totals 37 100% 25 100% 12 100%
Age 21 and under 11 30% 11 44% 0 22-34 16 43% 11 44% 5 42% 35-44 2 5% 1 4% 1 8% 45-54 3 8% 0 3 25% 55-64 3 8% 1 4% 2 17% 65 and over 1 3% 1 4% 0 Decline 1 3% 0 1 8% Totals 37 100% 25 100% 12 100%
Race White 25 68% 15 60% 10 83% Black, African American 5 14% 5 20% 0 American Indian and Alaska Native 0 0 0 Asian 1 3% 1 4% 0 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 0 0 0 Decline 1 3% 1 4% 0 Other, Haitian 2 5% 2 8% 0 Other, African 1 3% 1 4% 0 Blank 2 5% 0 2 17% Totals 37 100% 25 100% 12 100%
Free Speech Thursday’s Open Mic and Poetry Slam certainly fits well into
AS220’s mission of being unjuried, uncensored and open to the general public, as participation is open to the audience. The night I attended, people arrived early to sign
60! up to recite poetry, sing, and play guitar during the Open Mic half of the program or to participate in the Poetry Slam. Empire Revue is a variety show that takes place monthly at AS220. In addition to their own original music and skits (as AS220’s policy dictates, all music that is performed in the space must be original or in the public domain) the hosts of the show invite special guest performers to participate as part of the show.
Respondents from these two events have helped to answer the question of who benefits from arts-based revitalization efforts in Providence. The findings indicate that the benefits are not focused solely on the downtown arts district, and that they are spread amongst a range of people, rather than solely on certain neighborhoods, ages, income brackets or races.
Frequency of participation
I investigated how frequently the audience participates in AS220 programming and other arts events because it seems that the theorized community building effects of the arts are more likely to occur with regular attendance. AS220 offers a wide range of events and programs, at different times of day and night, free events and those with cover charges, events that occur with various frequency (weekly, monthly, yearly), programs that appeal to diverse ages, participatory events, etc. Respondents indicated that the two events they attend with the most frequency are Free Speech Thursday and
Empire Revue.
The finding that the audience at Free Speech Thursday and Empire Revue includes repeat attendees affirms the hypothesis that arts events are conducive to forging community connections. The interactions among audience members I observed prior to the event suggests that regular attendees recognize one another after attending ongoing, regularly scheduled programs. Additionally, the events that occur monthly would likely become familiar and comfortable to those who attend on a regular basis.
61!
Crenca supported these assumptions and confirmed that there are many repeat attendees at Empire Revue each month (Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
Respondents were asked whether they have attended events and programs at arts organizations other than AS220. The largest number of respondents indicated that they attend programming that takes place at three of the other pillar organizations:
WaterFire (73%), PPAC and Trinity (65%). This is not surprising, as the pillar organizations are the most visible and active in the city. They are located in (or immediately outside, as in the case of WaterFire) the Arts and Entertainment District.
About the figures on attendance at programs at arts organizations other than AS220,
Crenca commented that the organizations on the lower end of the scale are those with fewer public events (Community Music Works, The Steel Yard), as compared with those on the higher end of the scale (WaterFire, Trinity). Crenca noted that because it covers so many genres, AS220 overlaps with and shares audiences with every other arts organization in the city (Personal communication, May 28, 2010). AS220’s audiences might be seen as the core of Providence’s active arts audience, making it important to find out more about how they behave with respect to economic activity, and to learn more about their feelings about the city and its attractiveness and safety.
Table 8.2—Attendance at Programming at Arts Organizations Other Than AS220 Organization No. % (N=37) WaterFire 27 73% Trinity 24 65% PPAC 24 65% RISD 23 62% Perishable Theater 21 57% Black Rep 17 46% Festival Ballet 9 24% New Urban Arts 7 19% Steel Yard 6 16% Community Music Works 6 16%
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Economic Activity
Survey respondents combine participation in AS220 events with other activities that contribute to the city’s economic base. Over half (65%) of respondents indicated that they eat in a restaurant when attending arts programming. Fourteen (38%) of the respondents bought something (either art or something else) while attending arts programs. None of the respondents stay in a hotel while attending programs. This is likely because such a large number (79%) of respondents were from Rhode Island
(either Providence or another city) and 19% were from outside of the state. I would imagine that those who indicated they were from outside of the state did not travel very far. Anecdotally, some of the attendees that I spoke to had come from Boston and were simply planning to drive back after the event. One of the attendees that I spoke to who was from another state explained that she was staying with friends who live in
Providence. Crenca felt that most AS220 audiences are local, but that there are some shows (bands that are well known or playing their last area show, for example) that bring in audiences from across New England (Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
The contribution to tourism and tourism-related spending is smaller with attendees who come into downtown for one event and then return home.
Table 8.3—Other Expenses While Attending Arts Programming No. % (N=37) Eat in a restaurant 24 65% Purchase other items 9 24% Purchase art 5 14% Stay in a hotel 0 0%
These findings echo the findings of the economic impact study, “Arts &
Economic Prosperity III” by Americans for the Arts. The study found that audiences at arts and culture events pump revenue into restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and other local businesses. “When patrons attend a performing arts event…they may park their
63! car in a toll garage, purchase dinner at a restaurant, and eat dessert after the show.
Valuable commerce is generated for local merchants” (Americans for the Arts 2007).
Social Behaviors and Perceptions
Respondents indicated their support for the arts as a revitalization strategy through their expressed feelings of pride and involvement in the city. Respondents also demonstrated the effect of the arts in building social capital by indicating that arts programs are a good way to meet people they would not otherwise encounter.
The vast majority of survey respondents agreed with the argument of arts as a revitalization strategy. The largest numbers of respondents at both programs indicated that participating in arts programs makes them feel proud to be a part of the city. This is followed closely by a 73% response rate for “adds opportunities for getting involved in the city I wouldn’t otherwise have.” The combination of pride in the city and the high response rate for involvement in the city signals to me an important opportunity to capitalize on this feeling of involvement to give these audiences a chance to play more of a role in the city’s revitalization.
Table 8.4—Participation in Arts Programs and Feelings About Providence No. % (N=37) Makes me feel proud to 28 76% be a part of the city. Adds opportunities for 27 73% getting involved in the city I wouldn’t otherwise have. Provides entertainment 24 65% options otherwise not available. Makes me feel that 19 51% downtown Providence is a safe place to visit/live. Doesn’t change the way I 3 8% feel about Providence.
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When asked whether attending arts events is a good way to meet people, 78% of respondents indicated that arts events, such as the one they attended that day, are a good way to meet people they would not otherwise encounter, leading to increased levels of social capital and decreased feelings of social exclusion. Crenca felt that there was definitely a community that formed at AS220 programs. He mentioned Empire
Revue and Free Speech Thursday as particularly good examples of this, as are the rock shows and other shows with repeat attendees (Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
A number wrote in comments about the nature of their connections or interactions. Some of the respondents indicated that attending arts events has been a good way to meet and interact with people that they would not have otherwise known.
One commented, “I have made many new friends and feel such a strong sense of group unity and respect here.” Another noted, “I usually start recognizing familiar faces at different events and have made several friends and new acquaintances.” One respondent commented specifically on the types of people they have encountered at events at AS220, “I’ve found that, for the most part, the type of person who would attend an event at AS220 has a more individualistic, free-thinking aesthetic sensibility than someone who would prefer checking out a more mainstream act at a large venue.”
When asked about their feelings about safety in downtown Providence, the largest number of respondents (65%) selected “moderately safe.” When considered together, the two choices on the spectrum of feeling that downtown is safe comprise of
84% of the responses. Clearly, the vast majority of respondents feel that downtown is either very or moderately safe. Crenca felt that because the various organizations attract different audiences, the figures on safety would be very different if the survey had been distributed at other organizations. I found that non-Providence residents were less confident about safety in the city. Of the non-Providence residents, 11% (2/19) felt the
65! city was very safe, 58% (11/19) moderately safe, 16% (3/19) somewhat unsafe, 5%
(1/19) very unsafe, 5% were unsure and 5% of responses were unusable.
Table 8.5—Feelings on Safety in Downtown Providence No. % (N=37) Very safe 7 19% Moderately safe 24 65% Somewhat unsafe 3 8% Very unsafe 1 3% Unsure 1 3%
When attendees were asked specifically about their thoughts on downtown
Providence since the city’s establishment of an Arts and Entertainment District and focus on the arts, 73% said they felt the city is more attractive, and 68% felt the city is more entertaining. The numbers were lower and less definitive when participants were asked whether they feel the city is safer since the establishment of an Arts and
Entertainment District and focus on the arts—only 22% responded affirmatively, 27% selected that there has been no difference in safety, and 32% selected unsure.
Large numbers of infrequent attenders felt that the city is either moderately or very safe. I would have imagined that infrequent attendance might be tied to a feeling that downtown is unsafe, but I found that feelings of safety did not seem to be associated with AS220 audience participation or inclination to go out on the town. I also found that younger people tended to feel safer than older ones did, this could be because younger people are more used to today’s more-accessible downtown
Providence, without having the downtown Providence of years past to compare it to.
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Table 8.6—Whether Downtown Providence has Become More Attractive, Entertaining, Safe Since the City’s Establishment of an Arts and Entertainment District and Focus on the Arts More attractive More entertaining More safe No. % (N=37) No. % (N=37) No. % (N=37) Yes 27 73% 25 68% 8 22% No 1 3% 0 0 1 3% No 2 5% 1 3% 10 27% difference Unsure 4 11% 6 16% 12 32% Blank 3 8% 5 14% 6 16%
The survey also asked whether respondents think other neighborhoods (outside downtown) have benefited from the city’s development of an Arts and Entertainment
District and focus on the arts. Although many respondents were unsure about the effect of the city’s support for and focus on the arts on other neighborhoods, over half thought the benefits extended beyond downtown, and none of the respondents indicated that they believed other neighborhoods had not benefited at all. One person wrote in the comment, “That is complicated…” in response to the question.
When I spoke to Crenca in May of 2010, specifically about the survey results, he felt that arts activity and benefits have not necessarily spread through all of
Providence’s neighborhoods (Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
Table 8.7—Whether Neighborhoods (Outside Downtown) have Benefited from the City’s Development of an Arts and Entertainment District and Focus on the Arts No. % (N=37) Yes 21 57% No 0 0 Unsure 13 35% Blank 3 8%
The final survey question asked whether respondents felt AS220 and other arts organizations contribute to making Providence a better place. Several respondents wrote about AS220 and arts organizations providing opportunities, a welcoming, accessible sense of community and a creative outlet, “It’s a hub. A welcoming
67! recharging home away from home. It’s like church without God. Like a bar, without the focus on alcohol.” Another respondent commented, “There are programs serving youth and giving them positive outlets, means for expression for the general public, tying others in the community to artists and the arts.” One respondent wrote that AS220 and arts organizations contribute to making Providence a better place in every way, “It’s so great to see downtown as a vibrant place accessible to everyone. It raises the standard of living and generates all kinds of good karma. We are very fortunate indeed!” A couple of the respondents commented on the importance of AS220 and other arts organizations’ support of local artists and new businesses.
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CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
Conclusions of the Study
Many of the actors involved with arts organizations in Providence believe they are making a difference in the physical, social and economic well being of the city.
Many are committed to the idea that their efforts and the positive outcomes of revitalization can offer broad benefits to residents throughout the city rather than solely those living in certain areas or neighborhoods, those falling into certain demographic groups or tourists.
Yet this project also found that Providence’s arts organizations are not all alike in their perceived contributions to the city and its residents. In fact, many that may be counted by the city are no longer even active. 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. Additionally, despite the city’s focus on the arts in its revitalization efforts, arts organizations do not always see eye to eye with the city government with respect to directions, priorities and goals.
The study did not seek to determine the circumstances that influence whether arts organizations impact on their city’s physical, social, and economic well being, whether purposefully or as a welcome outcome of their other efforts. Nor did it aim to measure the extent of arts organizations’ impact on revitalization. Rather, the project aimed to shed light on the variety of ways these organizations’ activities make a difference in these domains.
The following highlights from these gleanings identify some of the intersecting concerns of artists and city planners and the arts organizations’ perceived synergies between creating art and creating a better city. They also indicate the range of potential
69! strategies planners, arts administrators, and artists might adopt to pursue such objectives under more optimal conditions.
Physical
Arts interventions can have a stabilizing effect on neighborhoods. AS220 is a good example, as the organization sees location as important to its work and mission— it would not be able to meet its goals without being in a visible, accessible downtown location. The organization has been strategic about its physical location and over the years it has invested a great deal of money and resources in the rehabilitation of downtown buildings.
One of WaterFire’s goals as an art installation and an organization is to get people out of their cars and onto the streets—affecting both safety and the perception of safety in the city as well as providing opportunities for interaction with others. Overall, responses on the topic of safety, perceived safety and the importance of safety in
Providence were mixed. Some organizations felt that their users would be more comfortable downtown if safety was less of a concern, while others did not view safety as an issue for attendees.
Arts organizations have the ability to impact neighborhoods outside of the downtown arts district. While a number of arts organizations expressed concern about displacement due to rising costs of living in Providence, only some have directed efforts and resources towards addressing the issue. One way organizations have taken action is by providing affordable live/work space to artists as a way to deal with the increasing costs to live in the city. Organizations also raised the issue of inclusion in or exclusion from Providence’s renaissance, and questioned whether the benefits have extended outside of downtown to all of the city’s neighborhoods and populations. While I was
70! unable to learn a great deal about this question, it is one that warrants further examination.
Social
Arts organizations have the ability to build community both amongst artists and within the population at large. One way the organizations examined in this study reached out to community members was to offer a diverse set of programs that attracts all kinds of people and makes them feel welcome, comfortable, and supported.
Additionally, they intentionally set pricing and program scheduling to attract audiences and make programs accessible to everyone. The survey of program attendees showed that attending arts programs is a good way to meet people, especially if attending programs designed to attract regular attendance. Members of both the arts organizations and the audience of their events suggested that this participation increases levels of social capital, decreases feelings of social exclusion, and demonstrated feelings of pride and connection to the city.
Economic
Findings also suggest that the arts can have an economic impact on a city. The arts organizations hire employees, purchase goods and supplies and contract for services. Their audiences invigorate the local economy by spending money in the city’s restaurants, on parking and on the purchase of art and other items while attending arts programming. A number of Providence’s arts organizations attract extremely large numbers of visitors and have a significant economic impact on the city.
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Expanding the Potential and Recognizing Limits
More experienced organizations can pass on their expertise to younger and smaller organizations to help them locate in the city and expand their potential contributions to the city as well as their administrative capacity. For example, AS220 serves as an arts incubator, providing space and resources to individuals and groups as they establish themselves in Providence.
While Providence’s arts organizations, particularly AS220, have played a vital role in the city’s revitalization, it is important to realize that revitalization is not their main objective. Their focus and mission is centered on the art and physical, social and economic outcomes are a positive benefit of the work of the organizations.
Suggestions for Further Research
What more do we want to know?
This study of Providence’s arts organizations adds a different perspective to the research that has focused on museums and other large cultural institutions. It is difficult to make generalizations about arts organizations from this project because it is hard to know whether findings are in fact specific to Providence. Further research is necessary to determine whether these findings are generalizable to other cities.
We could learn more about the role and voice of arts organizations while adding to the knowledge base by focusing on smaller community arts organizations that are doing a great deal of work with scarce resources. It would be beneficial to further explore the physical, economic and social contributions of arts organizations on revitalization by taking a more detailed look at a larger number of arts organizations and by obtaining more information from participants at arts programs. This could be done through continued in-depth case studies of a range of additional arts organizations in Providence. It would also be important to survey a larger sample of
72! attendees at arts programs to ensure that findings represent the entire population and to facilitate analysis of differences across types of arts activities and audience characteristics. Careful comparisons across types of organizations and different urban contexts might help to discern where investment is more likely to lead to desired impacts and which types of supports are more relevant.
Challenges to Methods and Suggestions for Future Research Projects
I found that people were less willing or able to talk than I had expected they might be. I had little difficulty setting up interviews with the more established pillar organizations but once I moved to my next tier of organizations, it became clear that setting up the interviews was going to be much more difficult than I had anticipated.
Challenges of low response rates and participation more generally lead me to suggest that future researchers make the decision to focus on one (or more if time allows) organization in depth, or to undertake a more comprehensive survey of either more events and programs at one organization and/or at a wider range of organizations to get a more complete picture of program attendees. It would also be interesting to undertake a study that looks at the impact and involvement of the city’s arts organizations over time.
It is also important to consider Bert Crenca’s comment that in today’s world, it is easy to gather and analyze data, but that it is important to keep in mind that this analysis does not tell the whole story. Crenca feels strongly that the anecdotal story telling is extremely important when considering questions of the role and impact of arts and arts organizations (Personal communication, May 28, 2010).
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Implications for Planning Practice
Providence’s smaller neighborhoods arts organizations had been working and making remarkable accomplishments, often with limited budgets, for many years before the city government took note of the creative force and power within the organizations and harnessed that energy by recognizing the arts and including it as part of the city’s revitalization strategy. Undeniably, the city has benefited from the strong presence of arts organizations in the city, and all they are able to accomplish.
For cities to be able to continue to take advantage of the benefits that can be offered by arts and arts organizations, they should support and encourage policies that are encouraging of artists and arts organizations. Cities should provide more direct funding to arts organizations and their activities. One way for cities to support arts organizations while also advancing their revitalization strategies would be to target funding. Funding could be targeted towards specific areas of an organization’s mission that deals directly with building community, specific activities that aim to bring people together, or other related topics.
While adequate funding is critical to the arts and arts organizations, support is not solely about financial support. In some cases, arts organizations and individual artists have benefited because they city has made it easier for them to function.
Financial support in the forms of grants and low-interest loans for purchasing real estate are examples of this type of support. The connection between government and arts organizations is particularly critical to smaller, neighborhoods arts organizations that are more able to have an impact when they are supported by the city.
Arts organizations themselves might work more closely together to share resources, expertise and experience as a way to contend with limited resources. Another option for arts organizations to consider is AS220’s model of diversifying its funding
74! sources by also undertaking income generating projects, such as apartment and space rentals and a restaurant and bar.
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APPENDIX
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Appendix A—Providence Arts Organizations with a Community-Focused Mission Organization name Founding Budget Type Community Produce Provide a A&E Comments year in mission art/support venue/facilitate district ! artists action (w/out a specific venue) 1 AS220 1985 1.8M Arts Yes Both Venue Yes Pillar org center/venue 2 Providence Black 1996 973K Arts Yes Produce Venue! Yes Pillar org! Repertory Company center/venue 3 Providence Performing 1928 22M Arts Yes Produce Venue! Yes Pillar org! Arts Center center/venue 4 Trinity Repertory 1964 8.6M Theater Yes Produce Venue! Yes Pillar org! Company 5 Waterfire Providence 1994 1.8M Fairs & Yes Produce Action No Pillar org! Festivals
6 Alliance of Artists 1992 Unk Arts service Yes Support Unknown No Communities 7 City Arts! 1992 292K Youth arts Unknown Support Venue No 8 Community Music 1997 632K Youth arts Yes Produce Both No Works 9 Festival Ballet 1978 1.6M Dance Yes Produce Venue No 10 First Works Providence 2004 530K Fairs & Yes Support Action No Festivals 11 Hive Archive 2001 26K Arts Yes Produce Venue No center/venue 12 Partnership for Unknown Unk Arts service Yes Support Unknown No Creative Industrial Space 13 Perishable Theater 1983 139K Theater Unknown Produce Venue Yes 14 New Urban Arts 1997 323K Youth arts Unknown Support Venue No 15 The Steel Yard 2001 400K Arts Yes Produce Venue No center/venue 16 Rhode Island State 1967 600K Arts Yes Support n/a No Council on the Arts support/State 17 Rhode Island Council 1973 Unk Arts Yes Support! n/a Yes for the Humanities support/State 18 Rhode Island Citizens 1999 Unk Arts Yes Support! n/a Unk for the Arts support/State
19 Providence 2003 Unk Arts Yes Support! n/a Yes Department of Arts, support/City Culture and Tourism 20 Office of Cultural Unk Arts Yes Support! n/a Yes Now exists as Affairs support/City Dept of Arts, Culture and Tourism 21 Arts & Business 1989 200K Arts Yes Support! n/a Yes Council of Rhode support/City Island
Opera Providence* Unk Performing arts Unknown Produce Venue No Outside scope of the project Spaces for Peace* Unk Arts service Yes Unknown Unknown No Outside scope of the project * These organizations are outside of the scope/focus of the project.
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Appendix B—Descriptions of Organizations to be Interviewed
Community Music Works! Sebastian Ruth, Founder & Executive-Artistic Director / Member, Providence String Quartet
Through the permanent residency of the Providence String Quartet, Community MusicWorks provides free after-school education and performance programs that build meaningful long-term relationships between professional musicians, children, and families in urban neighborhoods of Providence, Rhode Island. The organization was founded with the conviction that musicians have a role to play in creating and transforming communities. (www.communitymusicworks.org) Mission: To create a cohesive urban community through music education and performance that transforms the lives of children, families, and musicians. At the center of this mission are the teaching, mentoring, program design, and performance activities of the Providence String Quartet. Activities: Activities are focused on community development. CMW offers music lessons and programs designed to empower youth in Providence’s West End and South Side neighborhoods by addressing musical, personal and community development. All programs and instruments are free to participants. Staff employed: 8 Budget size: $632,000 (2008-2009) with 110 students enrolled Year founded: 1997
WaterFire Barnaby Evans, Executive Director
WaterFire is a sculpture that was first installed as part of First Night in June 1994 by artist Barnaby Evans on the rivers in downtown Providence. It has become immensely popular, drawing thousands of people to downtown Providence, and has become well- known as the symbol of the city’s renaissance/revitalization.
Mission: To creatively transform and inspire the city of Providence.
Activities: WaterFire generates a great deal of economic activity for Providence, bringing over 1.1 million visitors to Providence with a direct economic impact of $33.2 million, and a long-term total sales economic impact of $40.5 million. (WaterFire Economic Impact document) The WaterFire Providence 2007 Fact Sheet cites it as “the leading tourist and arts attraction in Rhode Island.” Barnaby Evans said of the installation, “WaterFire gets Americans out of their cars and back into their public spaces…By design, there is no point where you can see the whole installation at once, so you mingle with other citizens as you walk. It is designed so people can interact with each other, with the artwork, and with the urban environment." (http://www.pps.org/topics/success/waterfire) WaterFire is a significant public relations piece that generates a great deal of pride in the city.
Staff employed: unknown
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Budget: $1.8 Million Year founded: 1994
Trinity Repertory Company Michael Gennaro, Managing Director
Trinity Repertory Theater was founded in 1964, and has become one of the most respected theaters in the country. Arts education is a part of the Theater’s mission, and it works closely with a number of the universities in Rhode Island. Trinity is Rhode Island’s largest arts organization and it has always been located in downtown Providence. “Trinity Rep has a significant impact on the community, and is a linchpin of Providence's arts and entertainment district.” (www.trinityrep.com)
Mission: Trinity Rep reinvents the “public square” with dramatic arts that stimulates, educates and engages our community in a continuing dialogue. Activities: Generates over $12 million in economic activity each year. Supports artists and education. Staff employed: Over 100 artistic and administrative staff Budget: $7.4 million Year founded: 1964
Providence Performing Arts Company Lynn Singleton, President, Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC)
The Community Outreach Initiative of the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) involves a variety of programs and activities that make the theatre accessible to a wide range of people, especially young audiences and artists. This Initiative became a PPAC organizational priority when the Board of Trustees voted to dedicate all Annual Fund Campaign contributions to its support.
Mission: The Committee’s mission includes developing arts education opportunities for Rhode Island’s young people and making the Providence Performing Arts Center accessible to Rhode Island’s diverse populations. (http://www.ppacri.org/default.asp?ppac=58&objId=58). Activities: Lynn Singleton cites PPAC as the largest attractor of visitors to Providence outside of the zoo, and explains that the economic impact of PPAC is far-reaching, because a one-week show comes to the theater and brings over two hundred people who will go to restaurants, stay in hotels, and generate press for the city. Singleton shared an economic impact study that was presented to the State of Rhode Island House Finance Committee on April 1, 2003, that reported the generation of millions of dollars per year in the state’s economy. Staff employed: unknown Budget: $14 million? Year founded: 1928 (as Loew’s Theater)
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AS220 Umberto Crenca, Executive Director
Founded in 1985, AS220 is a non-profit community arts center that includes live/work studios, galleries, performance space, community darkroom, and a bar and café. AS220’s mission is to function as a home for the arts whose facilities would be open to all Rhode Island artists and where all performances would be unjuried, uncensored and open to the public. Bert Crenca, founder of AS220, “…has been committed to the revitalization of Downtown, and plays an important role in community efforts across the region. He serves on Providence Mayor Cicilline's Arts Culture and Tourism Advisory Board, and was also appointed to the Providence School Board in January 2005.” (http://as220.org/~bert/bio.html)
Mission: We, the citizens of Rhode Island, associate ourselves for the purpose of providing a local forum and home for the arts, through the maintenance of residential and work studios, galleries, performance and educational spaces. Exhibitions and performances in the forum will be unjuried, uncensored and open to the general public. Our facilities and services are made available to all artists who need a place to exhibit, perform, or create their original artwork, especially those who cannot obtain space to exhibit or perform from traditional sources because of financial or other limitations. Activities: • supports artists: affordable live/work studios, opportunities to show work, facilities (such as darkroom, printshop, etc) available • community development and place-making: Crenca and the organization are committed to the revitalization of Downtown Providence. The organization has purchased and has either renovated, or is in the process of renovating, buildings in three locations within the city’s Arts and Entertainment District. The organization is also committed to working with the city’s youth, specifically through the Broad Street Studios programs. • public relations: Crenca sits on the Mayor’s Arts, Culture and Tourism Advisory Board. AS220 has become one of key players in the city’s revitalization story and strategies. Staff employed: Over 50 Budget: Over $1 million Year founded: 1985
Providence Black Repertory Company Don King, Artistic/Executive Director
The PBRC was founded in 1996 with a mission to produce and present “…artistic performances that bring people together, provoke thought, inspire hope, and create understanding. The Black Rep is an arts organization that provides a unique experience in the tradition of Black/African/African-American art forms and culture in three key
80! areas: Theatre, Education, and Public Programs.” The PBRC defines itself as a Downcity cultural institution. (www.blackrep.org)
Mission: The Providence Black Repertory Company produces and presents artistic performances inspired by the cultural traditions of the African Diaspora that bring people together, provoke thought, inspire hope, and create understanding. The Black Rep’s dual mission – artistic and civic – provides for a unique experience in three key areas: Theater, Education, and Public Programs. Activities: • Supporting artists: Committed to artist development, with opportunities for master classes, workshops and career development activities. Local artists have an opportunity to network, share resources, and build their careers. Staff employed: Approximately 10 Budget: Approximately $1 million *Filed for receivership in 2009, currently “on hiatus” with discussions for reopening in Spring 2010. Year founded: 1996
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Appendix C—Sample Interview Questions
Waterfire Saturday, April 12, 2008
Thank you for your time/is it okay if I record our conversation?
Introduction: This thesis focuses on the role & contribution of arts organizations in relation to the city’s efforts towards making Providence a better place in which to live. It also looks at the question of whether changes have benefited all residents and/or extended to the entire city (beyond downtown and the Arts & Entertainment District).
I will be talking to arts organizations (“pillar orgs”-Trinity, AS220, Waterfire, Black Rep, PPAC; and a sampling of other organizations) and key stakeholders (universities, developers, city representatives) to find out more about how arts organizations have been a part of the changes that have happened in Providence.
Providence Can you tell me about your impressions of Providence when you established this organization? And your impressions of Providence today?
WATERFIRE Can you please tell me about WATERFIRE’s core mission?
What does WATERFIRE see as its biggest successes? Challenges?
What are the most pressing needs of this organization? Of your target populations?
WATERFIRE & Providence How do you think WATERFIRE has contributed to making Providence a better place in which to live?
Can you please explain what type of work WATERFIRE does to make Providence a better place in which to live? ! How does this organization’s work affect civic participation (participation in the community, etc), economic development, improvements to the built environment, and public safety in the city of Providence? ! On which areas/populations does this organization focus? Have these places or populations changed over time? Has there been a significant turning point? Can you talk a little bit about the impact of the city’s policies and the Arts & Entertainment District? ! Who are the main beneficiaries of this organization’s work? ! Have artists you work with benefited from changes in the city or from the city’s policies towards the arts? Would you be willing to tell me a story of how artists you work with have benefited? Have your target populations benefited? ! Have people (artists with whom you work, etc) been displaced? ! How has the city contributed to meeting the needs of and supporting this organization? ! Is there anything more that the city could do to encourage further involvement of arts organizations? ! What do you see as some of the challenges to artists/arts organizations in the city?
What has the impact been of the Arts District on this organization’s efforts (considering both your mission as an arts organization as well as your efforts regarding community development/revitalization)? ! Do you think that the city’s downtown revitalization has benefited residents outside of the downcity area?
What has the role of other arts organizations been in the revitalization of Providence? ! What further roles could arts organizations play in Providence? ! Has one or more of the arts organizations been particularly effective in advancing the revitalization efforts within the city? How and why? ! Would you recommend that I talk to that/those organizations as part of this project?
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! Would it be okay if I contacted you with additional questions as I move forward with the project?
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Appendix D—Copy of Survey
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