2 Minute Briefing #3 - May 2005 In This Issue: 1. ART SMARTS on Development: Cultural Districts: The Arts As a Strategy for Revitalizing Our Cities 2. Recent Examples: Worcester Arts District 3. Balancing Cultural Production and Consumption: Montreal's Art and Entertainment District Plan 4. Baltimore's Arts and Entertainment Districts 5. Rhode Island's Tax Free Arts Districts
1. ART SMARTS on Development: Cultural Districts The Arts as a Strategy for Revitalizing Our Cities A cultural district is an identified, mixed-use area of a city in which a high concentration of cultural facilities and activities serves as the anchor of attraction. Cultural districts can be found in communities as small as Pawtucket, RI to New York City. Cultural districts boost urban revitalization in many ways. They beautify and animate cities, provide employment, attract residents and tourists to the city, enhance property values, expand the tax base, and contribute to a creative, innovative environment. Americans for the Arts "Cultural Districts: The Arts as a Strategy for Revitalizing Our Cities" examines a particular strategy of cultural revitalization - the development of cultural districts. More than 90 cities in the United States have planned or implemented such districts, positioning the arts at the center of their urban revitalization efforts. This book examines 24 of those districts and reveals how cultural districts are established, the processes and players in each city that have determined the shape and content of such areas, and how cultural districts reflect the unique strengths of their respective cites and support local artistic redevelopment goals. Purchase the book here.
2. Recent Examples: Worcester Arts District Worcester, a post-industrial New England city, rezoned an area of the city along Main Street as an arts district to create a vibrant mixed community of artists, residents, cultural organizations, and businesses by fostering cultural economic revitalization. You can read their plan and progress online. It is a good example of how a struggling city can innovatively draw together artists, cultural organizations, the city government and the business community. The City is now implementing this plan. Arts District Master Plan
3. Balancing Cultural Production and Consumption: Montreal's Art and Entertainment District Plan When planning a district it is important for communities to consider creating a balance of cultural production (artists working in studios) and cultural consumption (museums, theaters) and what the physical implications of that are. Montreal has elegantly created a plan for their cultural quarter which includes spaces for both production and consumption. The idea of the "Quartier des Spectacles," Montreal's cultural quarter, grew out of a need expressed by the cultural community to promote the performance halls on the east side of downtown Montreal. The area's 28 auditoriums with nearly 28,000 seats led promoters to consider an “arts district” and emphasize its potential for economic, cultural, and urban development in the downtown. This idea was selected as a core initiative by the City of Montreal. The neighborhood boasts nearly 8,500 cultural jobs ranging from training and broadcasting to artistic creation and cultural production. Read up on their plans on the website!
4. Baltimore's Arts and Entertainment Districts The State of Maryland designated four Arts and Entertainment Districts in 2001 - allowing for tax incentives and other regulatory barriers to be changed in specific sites. Baltimore's Station North Arts & Entertainment District was established in January 2002 among the first group of four districts to be so designated by the State of Maryland. The 100-acre district serves as a gateway from downtown and the Mt. Vernon Cultural District to Charles Village, the Baltimore Museum of Art, The Johns Hopkins University, and areas further north. Since the State and City designated this area as an Arts & Entertainment District, the number of artists living and/or working in the District has increased substantially. Over one hundred new artists have joined the cultural mix. The website has useful information about tax benefits created and several innovative public art projects.
5.. Rhode Island's Tax Free Arts Districts Starting in 1998, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed legislation to provide tax incentives for artists to live and work in specific areas, or "districts", in eight Rhode Island communities: Providence, Pawtucket, Westerly, Woonsocket, Tiverton, Newport, Warwick and Warren. Art sold in these districts is exempt from State sales tax, and artists who live in the districts do not have to pay income tax for work sold in the districts. In setting up these districts, the General Assembly declared that “the development of an active artistic community, including ‘artists in residence', in [these areas] would promote economic development, revitalization, tourism, employment opportunities, and encourage business development by providing alternative commercial enterprises.” [RIGL §44-18-30B(6)]. In short, the legislature was giving each of these communities the tools and incentive to develop a portion of its community by helping artists to live, work and contribute to community life, and for art galleries and exhibition spaces to help contribute to the economy of the state and local community. Read more about this effort on the website. Rhode Island State Council on the Arts information on the districts