ARTWALKS AS CULTURAL DRIVERS IN MAJOR URBAN AREAS Prepared for the Burning Man Project by Emily Appelbaum. March, 2012 The practice of injecting urban neighborhoods with art and cultural amenities has gained enormous traction in recent years as an effective strategy to improve economic and social conditions in communities. Artistic activities fit well into an urban renewal agenda; they are ideally situated in undervalued or underutilized properties because affordability and raw space are often crucial to a wide range of creative uses. Even temporary initial interventions, such as a monthly art walk, can catalyze permanent change, as art-related activities tend to attract and multiply each other, spurring additional interest and investment. This type of intervention reduces crime, increases foot traffic and improves neighborhood image. Done carefully, it can have a lasting positive impact on the region’s economy, enrich the amenities available to underserved populations, and still remain sensitive to issues of over-development and gentrification.
The Context:
Central Market Street, San Francisco, and The Burning Man Project San Francisco, acting through initiatives voted on by the Board of Supervisors as well as policy shaped by the Central Market Partnership, is seeking to revitalize the degraded mid-Market neighborhood through a wide range of strategies, including funding for arts programming and incentives like the recent payroll tax exclusion (the Twitter Tax Break). As the Burning Man Organization enters the period of transition from LLC to subsidiary of the nonprofit Burning Man Project, it will align with, bolster, and also strive to reach beyond current efforts to renew mid-Market, not only with the relocation of headquarters to 995 Market Street, but by actively directing efforts of the Project’s six program areas toward the surrounding neighborhood, in keeping with the Project’s mission to be a catalyst for creative culture in the world. Specifically, the Arts, Culture, and Civic Involvement teams will examine a number of projects designed to bring creative arts programming and civic engagement to the neighborhood, providing critically lacking resources and amenities for local residents while promoting neighborhood safety, strengthening community ties, and improving the economic climate to support growth of local businesses. A number of other arts initiatives and organizations already exist in the neighborhood, with rich opportunities for collaboration on efforts that may include community gardens, benches and parklets, art in storefronts, popup retail, and regular art walks.
SUCCESS NEXT DOOR: THE OAKLAND ART MURMUR and other precedents Oakland Art Murmur
Downtown Oakland, CA
Because they have the potential to draw large crowds, because they produce a fairly unique and challenging set of logistics, and because they have the ability to so radically impact the urban environment, looking to art walks as precedents will prove crucially instructive in shaping the Project’s efforts moving forward. A clear case-in-point lies just across the Bay in Oakland’s Art Murmur, widely considered a key element of downtown Oakland’s rebirth. Art Murmur’s success has already drawn praise and enjoyed celebrity (see: New York Times, “Oakland’s Journey from Seedy to Sizzling,” May 2, 2010) as a harbinger of change in an Oakland.
The event’s rapid growth has presented obstacles, but these challenges have been met, overwhelmingly, with flexible, adaptable solutions and a minimum of red tape, reactionary fear or bureaucratic interference – not insignificant given Oakland’s sometimes-gritty nature. More than 20 galleries participate, and dancers, musicians and performance artists take over the streets, which are closed to traffic. At first, the gallery owners themselves applied for a permit to close one block, in order to allow vendors and food trucks. As the event grew, however, the private security guards and portable bathrooms they supplied were quickly overwhelmed.
Working with the city, Art Murmur was able to negotiate additional street closures, as well as a number of police officers dedicated exclusively to patrolling the event each month. The event now draws an estimated 20,000 people – many of whom never step foot inside a gallery, but rather, flow through the streets talking, hanging out with friends, examining art in street booths, dancing to music on multiple stages, watching live comedy or magic shows, or attending any number of impromptu and semi-regular spin-off events, like a lowrider show featuring as many as 50 cars each month. Many of these elements, including vending, cleanup and sanitation, are now coordinated by a volunteer group comprised of individuals, businesses, and business associations. A calmer “Saturday Stroll” has been added to handle overflow and help serious gallery-goers see art without Friday’s ever-growing crowds. Though many quip that the murmur has grown to a shout, opinion of the event remains overwhelmingly positive. According to Mayor Jean Quan, an Art Murmur regular, “When this first started it was mostly white and maybe some Asian hipsters. An now, walking down the street, I’ve seen everybody from wealthy developers to my favorite homeless guy to new Chinese immigrants and African Americans from East Oakland.” After eight years as an informal collaboration between galleries in Oakland and Temescal, Art Murmur has incorporated as a new nonprofit with a board of directors, events manager and executive director. The art walk hopes to add a Smartphone app to guide visitors around the gallery’s and studio’s various offerings.
Summary/Takeaways: •
Widely acknowledged for revitalizing downtown Oakland
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Recently incorporated as nonprofit with board of directors
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Flexible and open-minded regulation allowed city to work with and support event as it grew.
Contact info: Website: oaklandartmurmur.org; email: whatsup@oaklandartmurmur.org
Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk
Downtown LA, CA. The monthly day-long event on second Thursdays is a traditional art walk in that it’s free, open-tothe-public, and takes place in the street. But it’s grown to be one of the largest art walks in the country, and one of the largest events in downtown LA. In many ways, its success is a sign of the times – highly popular among LA’s hip younger set, the event has a great and highly interactive website with a customizable map, is very hooked in through social media, is funded by large corporate sponsors, and features things like text-to-win prizes, a Smartphone app, and free giveaways. Besides galleries, it incorporates artists, photography, restaurants, bars and shops, MCs and local musicians and businesses located in Downtown Los Angeles. In addition to the events concentrated on Main and Spring streets, a number of related openings, activities and special programming take place all over downtown on Art Walk nights. The event is highly organized. Besides a hip vibe, great graphics and an interactive “Downtown Directory,” and “Plan Your Visit” section, the website has info on safety and a dos/don’ts list for participating venues.
In addition to gallery stops, there is the Artwalk Lounge, which serves as a nexus from which the event is planned, and which can also function as a destination and occasional event space. The walk has grown from about 75 visitors when it started in 2004 to more than 20,000 today, along with, as one website wrote, “ a small army of food trucks, vendors and performers.”
Summary/Takeaways: •
Traditional art walk: Free, self-guided, run by board of directors with city ties
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Great website with interactive customizable map
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Artwalk Lounge as destination/event nexus
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Finalist for 2009 LA Real Creativity awards
Contact info: Website: downtownartwalk.org; Email: downtownartwalk@gmail.com; Executive Director Joe Moller: joe@downtownartwalk.org; Director Of Operations Qathryn Brehm: qathryn@downtownartwalk.org. Phone Number: (213) 617-4929.
Leimert Park Art Walk Leimert Park, Los Angeles, CA
This year-old monthly event, held on last Sundays in a traditionally black and underserved district, grew in the most community-centric and grassroots way — from a drum circle that had caused some controversy and neighborhood conflict. Looking for a positive way to resolve frustrations over the event (including rowdiness, traffic and crowds) a collective of artists, residents and local merchants came together to develop an art walk around the drum circle which could expand the event while dispersing some of the negative effects over a larger area. One of the major drivers of the district’s cultural renewal has been Kaos Network, which offers weekly workshops in video production, web site development, and other new media skills to help artists, as well as the youth and adult community in the area, to gain technological skills necessary for success, as well as offering classes in hip-hop, yoga and capoira. Kaos supports the art walk, and also seeks to be the bridge that connects underserved communities to new technology and multimedia arts disciplines.
Summary/Takeaways: •
Cultural renewal in traditionally black and underserved neighborhood anchored by art walk and multimedia arts education center.
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Arose from a process of conflict resolution
Contact info: Website: www.leimertartwalk.org; Organizer Ben Caldwell of Kaos Network: bencaldwellfilm@aol.com
Venice Artwalk & Auctions
Venice Family Clinic, Venice Beach CA. The Venice Artwalk and Auctions is entering its 34 th year as an annual (May) weekend-long event to benefit the nonprofit Venice Family Clinic, which offers free services to more than 24,000 people annually. The Venice Family Clinic holds a number of smaller annual events, which, along with the art walk and the clinic itself, receive support from large corporate and institutional donors. The art walk was started by clinic volunteers in the late 70s to support free health services for the urban working class in an incredibly poor neighborhood. Now the event raises more than half a million dollars annually. Admission is ticketed; $50 grants access to 50 private studios, some
pop-up galleries and a few other exhibits. Silent auctions and other events bring additional funding. The Venice Artwalk and Auctions is unique in that it is a fundraiser, which has gradually added events such as private tiered-donation receptions for patrons in featured galleries, Surf and Skate silent auction featuring decks made by local artists, and raffles. They also offer architectural and historic walking tours of local landmarks and buildings as well as an after party with additional art for sale.
Summary/Takeaways: •
Annual fundraiser for nation’s largest free clinic; $50 to get in; event takes place primarily in galleries and private studios rather than on street.
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Additional activities like private receptions, public after-party and docent-led walking tours.
Contact info: Website: theveniceartwalk.org; Email: vfcinfo@mednet.ucla.edu
South First Fridays, SubZERO Festival SoFA district, San Jose, CA
San Jose’s South First Fridays organization hosts monthly first Friday evenings of arts and culture, which include the standard set of galleries and restaurants, plus participation from places like TechShop San Jose, a fabrication and hacker space. The organization also puts on Street MRKT – an indie DIY urban fair with music and pop-up vendors galore – and the Annual SubZERO Festival.
Going into its fifth year, SubZERO centers on counter-culture and the arts. As stated on its website, “Focused on emerging and present subcultures thriving in our region, SubZERO is a DIY artistically bent hi/lo-techno mashup where street meets geek.” Fashion shows, electronic music, small companies focusing on surf, skate and snow culture, performance artists, and assorted other weird stuff like CUBIIC — an innovative audio and video mixing interface from Bay area digital artists, which allows users to mix audio and video intuitively by manipulating glowing cubes — lend the festival an offbeat edge, and prove that innovative exhibitors can make all the difference in an art walk or festival. South First Fridays also teams up regularly with ArtCar Fest (www.artcarfest.com).
Summary/Takeaways: •
Edgy and tech-centric annual festival sponsored by monthly art walk organization
Contact info: Website: www.southfirstfridays.com; subzerofestival.com. Email: info@subzerofestival.com; Phone: (408) 271-5155
First Thursdays Art Walk Reno Riverwalk Distric, Reno NV
Monthly art walk as part of an established art and tourism district featuring large “anchor” institutions like the National Automobile Museum, (where a number of mutant vehicles from Burning Man are on exhibit!). The district hosts other recurring events, like a monthly wine walk on third Thursdays.
Summary/Takeaways: •
Part of a permanent art district with its own governing organization
Contact info: Website: www.renoriver.org; Email: matt@javajunglevino.com; Phone: (775) 329-4484
Artown
Downtown Reno, NV
An annual month-long celebration in July, Artown started in 1996 as a way to counteract suburban flight and revitalize downtown by attracting more foot traffic and tourism to the city center. The event combines free and ticketed activities, and has grown from 30,000 to more than 300,000 visitors. In addition to local and regional talent, internationally known artists regularly perform at Artown. It’s a 501(c3) run by a board of directors, and receives corporate sponsorship as well as city funding. It has also received NEA grants for $15,000. The event is held between a public park with a mainstage, various nearby galleries that host events and openings over the course of the month, as well as other cultural institutions in the downtown area. It’s a bit of a mish-mash — anything and everything seems to count as part of Artown — but it has completely reversed the image of downtown Reno.
Summary/Takeaways: •
Huge month-long annual event with international-level talent and NEA funding
Contact info: Website: renoisartown.com; Phone: (775) 322-1538
Last Thursdays
Art on Alberta, Alberta Arts District, Portland, OR This monthly walk, started in 1997, is year-round and consists of a few well-established galleries, but, more importantly, tons of street vendors and performers along sidewalks and alleys. Automobile traffic is restricted during the event. This art walk definitely breaks out of the white-walled box with lawns and garages transformed into stages and galleries, a n d weed-strewn and pavement-cracked alleys playing host to surprising installations. Stilt walkers, other street performers and general funkiness abound, as do locally made and affordable works of art, often found in pop-up kiosks. There are even some low-key carnival games set up on the street (think corn hole more than anything elaborate) with artsy prizes to be had.
The fun and funky anything-goes atmosphere is what defines this art walk. The event incorporates a definite Burning Man-like ethos, from its fire dancers to its Leave No Trace policy (complete with a dance-party clean-up truck). They also have a great blog and website, organized by Friends of Last Thursday, to keep themselves connected and up-to-date. They’re big-but-not-too-big, and may prove a great example to follow.
Summary/Takeaways: •
A bit informal so things still feel fun and funky, run by a “friends of” group
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Plenty of Burning Man ethos, from Leave No Trace onward
Contact info: Websites: artonalberta.wordpress.com, www.lastthursdayonalberta.com; Email: info@artonalberta.org; Art on Alberta President Eve Connell: president@artonalberta.org
First Fridays East Portland Central Eastside, Portland, OR This five-year-old monthly event takes place year-round and is curated by a quarterly gallery guide. One website described it as “equal parts scavenger hunt, community building and Friday night on the town.” It includes full-fledged music shows with bands, projectors, lasers and beer, and augments the few brick-and-mortar galleries that participate with weird installations by local artists on the streets. Sponsored by small local businesses — mostly the participating galleries themselves. This event has remained spontaneous and a bit underground; with little regulation or city involvement, it has managed to create an edgy, hip, vibrant atmosphere while avoiding major problems of traffic, vandalism and sanitation.
Summary/Takeaways: •
More research required – info hard to find; it’s a bit edgy and underground
Contact info: Website: www.firstfridayart.com; Coordinator Julia Gardner: gardner.julia@gmail.com
First Thursdays Pioneer Square (and others)
Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA
Pioneer Square, which has began its transition to trendy hot spot and art haven as long ago as the 60s, is home to Seattle’s oldest art walk — and what the Pioneer Square neighborhood claims is the oldest art walk in the country. Started in 1981, the monthly event incorporates the standard set of galleries and plenty of public art installations on the street – city sponsored pieces that are rotated in and out of the area. The art walk in itself doesn’t seem to be that unique, but what is unique is the culture of art walks the city has fostered. Pioneer Square is one of about fifteen regular art walks in Seattle, with about three new walks added in the last year alone. Some other interesting ones: Georgetown Art Attack, which has an edgy vibe and issues a collectable postcard for each event, and the Central District Art Walk, run by a group of artists inhabiting a strip of live-work studios to which they hoped to attract tourists.
Summary/Takeaways: •
Culture of artwalks, many new ones starting all the time
Contact info: Website: www.seattleartwalks.org, www.seattleartists.com/blog/?page_id=6
The Drift
Main Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada The Drift is an annual event run by the Main Art Drift Society, which strengthens community support and awareness for the arts and supports local artists and artisans by providing meeting spaces and workshops. They actively cultivate a unique, artistic culture in the Main Street district and strive to create ties between the local art, business and not-for-profit communities. They bring art and live artist demonstrations to display in and around local businesses, bringing additional traffic to their retail partners. The annual Drift Art Festival includes the standard open galleries, but also a wide range of activities and events that take place in local businesses, restaurants, cafes, community organizations and public spaces. They particularly cater to buskers and street performers during the event – musicians, dancers, stilt walkers, poets, face painters, etc., are all invited to register with the Drift. They are then given a list of prime spots to entertain – available on a first-come-firstserved basis – and a list of city guidelines for street performers that, by registering, they agree to abide by (found here: City Guidelines: http://vancouver.ca/). A number of shop owners also sign up to host performers if it rains during the event – simple, elegant way of handling entertainment. The Drift also maintains a list of artists they support with resources year-round.
Summary/Takeaways: •
Very busker-friendly with efficient strategy for handling street performers
Contact info: Website: www.thedrift.ca; Event Coordinator Diane Lefroy: (604) 731-689
First Friday, Preview Night
Art District on Santa Fe, Denver, CO
The Santa Fe Arts District takes an interesting approach, offering a vibrant, raucous, popular and crowded First Friday event paired with a calmer third Friday geared toward more serious collectors, called Preview Night. The First Fridays feature standard art walk fare – open galleries, open studios, food trucks, hipsters and crowded streets (complaints that the streets aren’t closed to traffic have surfaced) along with live music here and there. A free shuttle is available. During Preview Nights, artists are on-hand to talk about the work with more serious buyers, but some of the festival atmosphere – and associated frustration -- is diminished.
Summary/Takeaways: •
Free shuttle but complaints about traffic interference and crowded streets
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Preview night for serious collectors as art walk counterpart
Contact info: Website: www.artdistrictsantafe.com
Colorado Creative Industries Division
Denver, CO
Not an art walk or festival, but a forward-thinking public agency merging a number of Office of Economic Development divisions focusing on the arts, dedicated to a sustained investment in the creative sector. Recently developed a strategic plan and helped pass state legislation that encourages the formation of Creative Districts and will offer a number of grants for technical assistance in enhancing communities and neighborhoods by showcasing and promoting creative culture in 2012.
Contact info: Check out the organization, www.coloarts.state.co.us; the initiative, www.coloarts.state.co.us/programs/economic/creativedistricts/index.htm; and the legislation, HB11-1031, at www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2011a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/FD4A0B86F70B2DD4872578080 0801376?open&file=1031_enr.pdf.
First Fridays Art Walk Jackson Ward, VA
As many as 40 galleries participate in this monthly walk, along with shops, restaurants and cultural organizations along historic Broad street in Jackson and Monroe wards. Run by University of Richmond, the nine-year-old event is credited with renewing the historic district. The walks mean later hours for local restaurants, as well as an influx of street entertainment, from belly dancers to circus groups to street magicians.
Summary/Takeaways: •
Credited with renewing blighted historic district, sponsored through local university
Contact info: Website: www.firstfridaysrichmond.com; Managed by Curated Culture: curatedculture@comcast.net; Phone (804) 304-1554
FABnyc ArtUp Alleyway Project
East Village, New York City, NY
A project commissioned by FABnyc to bring art to New York’s underutilized spaces, such as this East Village alley – a different kind of “art walk” created by three local artists. These murals were funded in part by Kickstarter and used unique tactics – such as offering sidewalk portraits of donors — to raise funds. The organization, FABnyc, heads up tons of local events, coordinates gallery openings, classes, etc.
Contact info: Website: fabnyc.org
Festival of Ideas and Street Fest Lower East Side, New York City, NY
The Festival of Ideas started out as a one-time event, but the hope is that it will return. With demonstrations, artists kiosks, panel discussions on local urban issues and workshops in things like sculptural upcycling, the festival went beyond traditional “street fair fare” to engage residents and participants in shaping positive and innovative changes in their community and cities in general. Cabinet Magazine offered the “University on the Bowery,” inviting participants to engage in brief, informal one-on-one conversations with leading scholars in their fields, artisan food and craft makers shared their wares, ideas for improving vacant lots were gathered, Elastic City curated a number of short urban “solar experiences” designed by an urban planner and visual artist, and plenty of ideas were exchanged – in addition to Street Fest and conference components, the Festival of Ideas offered an online forum where users can vote on new concepts for urban living and even put some into action themselves (http://ideas.festivalofideasnyc.com/).
Summary/Takeaways: •
Aimed at user participation and user-generated-ideas, included many independent exhibitors as well as panel discussions and brainstorming sessions to jumpstart local projects.
Contact info: Website: www.festivalofideasnyc.com
Art in Motion
The Dallas Arts District, Dallas, TX This large and well-organized group runs all sorts of programming in a downtown district that features galleries, museums, performing arts complexes and more. They offer grants and host a month-long festival of events in October and assorted other events throughout the year.
One of the coolest is the Art in Motion decorated bike ride. For the kickoff of their October event, they invite people to decorate bikes, strollers — any human-powered vehicle, in fact — and join a procession that ends at the opening ceremony for the event. They allow people to decorate their bikes in advance or to show up early to the art museum (free admission during the festival) and use their supplies to create a rolling showpiece. Then everyone heads out together. Prizes are offered for the rolling art exhibits.
Summary/Takeaways: •
Art bike parade sponsored by organization providing year-round support for art district
Contact info: Website: www.thedallasartsdistrict.org; Email: artsinfo@downtowndallas.org
Ingenuity Festival
Cleveland, OH
Started in 2004 by James Levin, the Cleveland Ingenuity Festival takes place in a different downtown neighborhood every year, most recently in the “catacombs” — the now-obsolete streetcar level — of the Detroit-Superior Bridge. The festival features art in booths and galleries, but also interactive, place-based installations that make use of and celebrate the city’s postindustrial infrastructure. (Think: temporary lit-up waterfall off the bridge and perspective chalk art “below” the floor of an abandoned warehouse.)
The founders envisioned a street fair and art walk that would showcase technology projects as well. ( The event’s full name is: “Ingenuity, the Cleveland Festival of Art and Technology.”) Said Tom Schorgl, a founder and President of the Community Partnership of Arts and Culture, “You need to more than art and music to bring tourism here … you need to create a more distinct event.” The annual event is supported by various urban revitalization initiatives around the city, such as the Gordon Square Arts District, and also enjoys broad political support for its “creativity in technology” mission.
Summary/Takeaways: •
Annual event with creativity in technology focus, closely tied to creative use of urban infrastructure.
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Very interactive and place-specific; visitors don’t just look at art, they participate.
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Mobile, more tied to interactive installations and exhibits than galleries
Contact info: Website: ingenuitycleveland.com; Phone: 216.589.9444
GENERAL THOUGHTS: lessons and takeaways Many art walks contained additional components such as: •
Panel discussions (especially on topics relevant to the community such as architecture and new urban strategies; social media and the arts; and new technologies for the arts)
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Film screenings (outdoor “drive-in” style, projected on a building? People bring blankets or perhaps …. Bushwaffle? (See: Rebar: www.bushwaffle.com)
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Author presentations/book signings
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Buskers / soapbox stages, registered or unregistered
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Main stages for music, dance, aerial performance, juggling, fire dancing, etc.
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Workshops/community participation events with free takeaways (i.e. seed bomb making, bring a plastic bottle to transform into a planter, make a lantern from a can, etc.
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Workshops/community participation events where people contribute efforts or items to create a larger permanent project, i.e. woven tapestry where everyone adds a piece, sculpture made from everyone’s contributed light bulbs, etc.
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Workshops/community participation events where participants contribute to a permanent improvement in the neighborhood, I,e, cleaning a lot or planting a garden, or painting a mural under guidance.
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Artist talkbacks, demonstrations, fundraisers for other projects (with interactive prototypes, etc.)
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Special offers or hours from neighborhood businesses and restaurants
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Interactive exhibits or installations that combine technology with user participation: specially designed photobooths, user controlled light displays, body-scale instruments, multiple-player games.
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Open studios (tough if you don’t have studios in the area … )
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Place-based memory/narrative/storytelling projects
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Curated walks: traditional, history-focused, docent-led or self-guided/experiential
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Interactive or non-interactive maps of participating venues
General Questions: •
How to approach potential corporate sponsors?
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How to approach non-galleries such as restaurants, theaters and museums? How do they become involved and what can they offer?
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What about an after party or final destination space? Possibly with additional programming?
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Police presence?
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Car versus foot traffic? Automobile restrictions?
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Is there programming in the art walk region for non-art walk days? Installations that remain in the area? Initiatives for brining artists to work in the area, not just exhibit?
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Institutions that permanently inhabit the area versus temporary exhibitors brought in for the event?