Joan's Blog....
Arts Districts -- How they can improve our neighborhoods and grow our cities!
Over the years many downtown areas have been in a state of
demise! They have turned into boarded
buildings and unsafe neighborhoods. City
planners and elected officials have had to struggle to bring these areas back
to life again! One major vehicle that
has worked in many cities is the formation of “arts districts”.
Cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, such as Richmond, Williamsburg,
Norfolk, Isle of Wright (Smithfield) have been successful at accomplishing this
mission. Some are still in the formation
stage (Norfolk and Isle of Wright) but Richmond and Williamsburg are “models”
of how a thriving arts district can enliven a city and offer many arts and
cultural opportunities for its residents, their families and friends.
The Cultural Alliance has recognized these developments and
the workshop on Arts Districts, presented in March, 2014 in Williamsburg,
offered its participants a great wealth of knowledge and ideas on how to
establish these districts in their areas.
The speakers at this workshop-- Michele DeWitt, Williamsburg; Careyann Weinberg, Norfolk;
and Nicholas Feucht, Richmond;--can be contacted and consulted if you are
interested in learning how they were able to create and maintain their arts
district and to discuss the many, many benefits of such districts (tax
revenues, income and employment opportunities for businesses and artists,
establishment of new businesses, and the list continues).
Let’s give a hand to arts districts and how much they can
impact the arts and our communities!!!
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