Artscape

Originally uploaded by markboscariol

Artscape - how was it? Well……

It was nice, but for a scaledowner, there was little new information.
The most I could take from it was some wonderful case studies in success such as Wychwood Barns, Habersham Marketplace, Downtown Rockford, IL and Providence, RI which has many parrallels to WIndsor with it formerly being in a three way tie for worst downtown in America

Call it the Laverne and Shirley quote “If they could make it there, they could make it anywhere!” including Windsor

Now if the goal was to find interest from the arts community, mission accomplished, you had them at hello, etc… etc…

However, it takes two to tango, without more interest from the Private sector, I don’t see a path to success. Put it this way
Artists looking for space and willing to participate….. dime a dozen
Landlords willing to step out and up to participate…, Priceless

The Group Live, Work, Learn Play give their infomercial which made retail recruitment sound as easy as a walk in our riverfront park,… Provided you procure their services. Hopefully, no one in Windsor will be fooled by this when any trip to an OBIAA (Ontario BIA association) or IDA (international downtown Association) conference would introduce you to the stakeholders from every north American downtown who maintain that retail recruitment is the struggle of every downtown and is not easily solved.

Thats not to say doom and gloom abound, only that we need to stop looking to groups like Live work Learn Play to solve our problems and start commencing the work that will solve our own problems.

The presentation about Providence Rhode Island, AS220 Arts Incubator was probably the best. Again another amazing case study about what people can do when they work towards a common goal.

Much of it was about creating commune’s where Artists could connect with their neighborhood.

Justin Langlois - Broken City Lab

We just set out to do things, results are suprising
To paraphrase Justin (hope he’ll forgive me)
Instead of getting the suburbs to look at what we’re doing, we need to replicate what we’re doing in the suburbs. Then we can collaborate. Others can ask us what we did and how we did it and then go out and do it better in their neighborhood.

I think What Justin does is very important, I think that people who see his work view downtown, our city and its people in a different way. I think he’s holding up a mirror to the ugliest parts of us while pointing to a way that is far more beautiful. But it is but a drop in the great lakes that surround us.

However, as important as that is, even he doesn’t have any delusions of grandeur that broken city lab is more than that. He wants others to replicate what he’s done in a way that suits them and authentic. He’s there to offer assistance to anyone that wants it. We just need more areas of the city to want it.

(Justin, feel free to correct any mis-statements I may have made, doing my best to lay it out as I see it)

Now….. where are those landlords? we need them as partners to move us forward.