THE ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL ARTIST COLONY

A Thesis

Presented to the

Faculty of

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Science

In

Urban and Regional Planning

By

Thomas Oliver

2009

SIGNATURE PAGE

THESIS: THE ELEMENTS OF A SUCESSFUL ARTISTCOLONY

AUTHOR: Thomas Oliver

DATE SUBMITTED: Fall 2009

Department of Urban and Regional Planning

Dr. Felix Barreto _________________________________________Thesis Committee ChairUrban and Regional Planning

Dr. Ana Maria Whitaker _________________________________________Urban and Regional Planning

Dr. Richard Willson _________________________________________Urban and Regional Planning

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thesis Committee Chairman, Dr. Felix Barreto, provided a keen eye for

the direction of this research as well as a concern for serving those persons from

lower income brackets who may be effected detrimentally by a planning process.

He encourages a graduate student to not only display research and statistics, but

to interpret and produce a reasonable, ethical opinion formed by the research.

Dr. Barreto is a tough critic that did not let this research become ineffectual.

Thesis Committee Member, Dr. Richard Willson, is an artist -- as is this

researcher. He added an important voice to the committee as an advocate of the

interested parties for this type of research. Through past classes that this

researcher participated in, Dr. Willson encouraged this researcher in his desire to

expand this thesis project into the world of qualitative research. He is also an

evaluator that steered this study away from becoming a meaningless exercise.

Thesis Committee Member, Dr. Anna Marie Whitaker has an interest for

the “planner as advocate” form of planning theory that the AICP oath

encourages. She draws planning students out of their comfort zones and into the

world of authentic public discussion and understanding. Her voice was crucial in

understanding the negative and positive aspects of “gentrification” as it applies to

artist colonies. If the ideas expounded in this report were to add power to a

negative planning process, she would be the person to expose this dilemma.

iii

ABSTRACT

The fine arts often see artists gathering together in “artist colonies.”

Recent years have seen these colonies increase with the help of city planners

who use them as a remedy for blight, which can cause “gentrification.”

This study investigates the subject of artist colonies to inform planners who

assist in the creation of these communities. The first part of the study utilizes the

Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists (Morgan, 2008) as a resource for a

migration study of notable artists in the United States. Through this dictionary’s

biographies the study determines locations where successful artists gathered

during their lives and careers. The pull of particular locales that experience artist

clustering can make them candidate sites for planting “artist colonies.”

The second study, through survey, asks 206 artists to note the elements

of a successful artist colony. Elements, such as, “Marketing/Publicity” and the

“Community of Artists,” appear in a top ten list at the conclusion of the research.

Also, in the process of finding coding categories for artist colonies, definitions of

the distinct colony types become evident and may be used by planners as a

simple way to clarify the types of artist colonies. These findings and the artist

statements from the survey create a treasure trove of information for the planner

who would consider “planting” an artist colony.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Signature Page.................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements............................................................................ iii Abstract.............................................................................................. iv Introduction........................................................................................ 1 Introduction Pomona Arts Colony Case Study Thesis Statement Gentrification Literature Review............................................................................... 22

The Background The Artist Colony Defined Artist Colonies and Economic Development The Elements of Artist Colonies Artist Colonies and Gentrification Case Studies of Artist Colonies Methodology...................................................................................... 44

Clustering and Migration of Artists Survey of Artists Research Findings............................................................................. 51

Clustering and Migration of Artists Survey of Artists Conclusion.........................................................................................105 Bibliography.......................................................................................117 Appendix A: The Elements of a Successful Artist Colony.................122 Appendix B: Notable Artists Associated with a State........................ 125 Appendix C: Compiled Data of all the Elements Suggested..............127

v

INTRODUCTION

For many years the sometime solitary practice of the arts has seen artists

gathering together in certain neighborhoods to support one another in their

vocation. This gathering place is often called an “artist colony.” The last few

years have seen an increase in these colonies, not only being formed by the

natural gathering of artists, but by a “planting” of sorts by city planners who want

to increase the economic viability of a neighborhood, or even use artist colonies

as a remedy for blight. This planting can encourage the process known as

“gentrification” which is a process where the lower income residents in a

neighborhood can no longer live in the area because of the increased cost of

housing and cost of living brought on by persons with higher incomes moving into

the vicinity. Both of these terms “artist colony” and -- to a lesser extent --

“gentrification” will be discussed throughout this study.

The first phase of the study gathers information from the Oxford Dictionary

of American Art and Artists (Morgan, 2008) to examine where notable artists

have naturally migrated throughout the United States. This dictionary’s

biographies help this researcher to determine locations where successful artists

gathered during their lives and careers. The pull of particular locales that

experience artist clustering can make them candidate sites for planting “artist

colonies.” On the other hand, regions where artists have not been shown to

gather could squander important planning resources through the planting of an

artist colony.

1

The second phase of research is gathered through use of an Internet

survey of artists. These artists are asked to describe the elements that they

would like to see in an artist colony -- and then they are further queried for their

thoughts on “gentrification.” The findings and the artist statements from the

survey are intended to provide information for the urban planner who would

consider “planting” an artist colony.

Carr and Servon, in their article in the Journal of the American Planning

Association, call artist colonies a form of “vernacular culture (Carr & Servon,

2009).” They note that these vernacular neighborhoods are recognized by

having small businesses, tourism dollars, and economic contribution -- and fear

that cities will forget this important contribution (Carr & Servon, 2009). Niven and

Pletter, in the Economic Development Journal, call the future economy the

“Creative Age (Nivin & Plettner, 2009).” They say that “...the work done by

creative people in each economy creates the value-added and drives economic

growth and development (Nivin & Plettner, 2009, p. 31).”

The origins of American artist colonies are hard to pin down through

previous scholarly research and studies. According to the website,

Encyclopedia.Com, “The first American artists' colony emerged in 1877, when

William Morris Hunt, Barbizon painter and colleague of Jean-François Millet,

established a pleinair (outdoor) painting school in Magnolia, Massachusetts. The

1880s and 1890s represented the peak of rural colony activity in Europe, and

many American artists returned to the United States to create their own

communities stateside (Schrank, 2003).” On the other hand, Wikipedia states

2

that art colonies, as they exist today, are thought to have begun in the period of

1870 to 1910. This popular website encyclopedia says that “...it is estimated that

between 1830 and 1914 some 3000 professional artists participated in a mass

movement away from urban centers into the countryside residing...in over 80

communities (Wikipedia, 2008).” They name three types of colonies: transient,

mixed visiting/resident, and permanent resident.

New Hampshire’s MacDowell Colony, which began in 1907, has become a

model of sorts for other American colonies. Wikipedia notes that there are two

worldwide organizations dedicated to artist colonies, Amsterdam’s “Res Artis,”

and Providence, Rhode Island’s “Alliance of Artist Communities (Wikipedia,

2008).” These artist colonies organizations have been variously supported

through the years by private funds, the WPA and the National Endowment for the

Arts -- which has dried up in the current years (Goler, 2005).

The MacDowell Colony has had impressive alumni through the years

including Louis Guglielmi; composers Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland;

writers Thornton Wilder, Richard Wright, and Alice Walker; and sculptor Helen

Farnsworth Mears who completed some of their works of notoriety while living

there (Goler, 2005). This colony also has its own “Art Walk” event called

“MacDowell Downtown” and they have a mission to spread art to the local school

students called “MacDowell in the Schools, MacDowell Fellows” as well as an

ongoing art exhibit in the local town library (The MacDowell Colony, 2008).”

As another example, here in California, in the 1990’s, the 101 Artist

Colony in Encinitas leased its gallery location in a mostly-vacant building, called

3

“The Lumberyard,” with the help of financial support from the MainStreet

Association – a local business group. The group lives in nearby cottages and

through its nine years this colony became self-supporting, holds summer art

camps for kids, and is responsible for the City of Encinitas’ win of a 2004 Great

American MainStreet Award.

Not all of its news is positive, however. As of 2007, the 101 Artist Colony

is losing its lease as a developer plans to build a multi-use project on the site

(Kaye, 2007). The North County Times says that local officials, “...are

determined to keep the [101 artist] colony as an ingredient of the city's cultural

potpourri. They also credited the colony as playing a key role in the revitalization

of downtown Encinitas (Kaye, 2007).” A city official relates that, “The two

strongest elements that give us that unique identity are our historic buildings and

our art. These are critical, critical factors in downtown Encinitas (Kaye, 2007)."

In yet another side to this artist colony story, the Wall Street Journal writes

of an art colony of sorts that began in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, in 1999. “China

Art Objects Galleries,” an artist group, moved in to the struggling neighborhood

with the blessing of the area’s business development committee. The Journal

writes, that the business group says they are “...embracing the artists as a way to

bring in tourists and revenue (Trivedi, 1999).” To the contrary the Journal also

relates that, “Mr. Fong [owner of Fong’s Oriental Works of Art] and others worry

that the influx of artists could spell the end of Chinatown as they’ve always

known it, drawing in non-Chinese businesses. Many of the artists say that would

be a pity. They’re attracted to the area precisely because it’s so different

4

(Trivedi, 1999)” -- which brings up the subject of “gentrification” that will be

discussed later in this thesis.

Jesus Pedro Lorente, in his study for the University of Zaragoza, says

about Liverpool, England’s art district, “...Liverpool artists, who fear a similar

process of gentrification will even eventually substitute trendy yuppies for poor

artists, but amongst other Liverpudlians outside the arts-scene the analogy only

came as a wishful inspiration for promoting urban renewal (Lorente, 2000, p.

90).”

POMONA ARTS COLONY CASE STUDY

Near to this researcher’s own university, is an area in Pomona, California

known as the “Pomona Arts Colony.” The study of the Pomona Arts Colony was

the inspiration that spurred this researcher toward a desire for a further

understanding of this subject. Here is what was discovered about this local

“Artist Colony” through research into the “where’s and why’s” of this area

becoming known as an “artist colony/district.”

The first residents of Pomona were a Gabrieleno tribe of Native Americans

who vanished into the Spanish Mission work system of the 1800’s, and

intermingled with Mexican and American immigrants. In the 1870’s, railroads

brought real estate speculators to Pomona (Metro Pomona, 2008). The Metro

Pomona Website says -- in historical irony – that “...there were 15 saloons, a

financial panic, and a bankruptcy auction of land to bring in new people. Pomona

didn’t seem to be off to a promising start (Metro Pomona, 2008).” Later, Pomona

5

became a city in 1888 in an effort to outlaw saloons, which failed, so in 1911

Pomona passed a law to make it a dry town. This failed and induced a boom in

speakeasies until alcohol was legalized after the 13th amendment repeal in 1933

(Metro Pomona, 2008).

1915’s Pomona boasted to having the only automated telephone

switchboard west of the Mississippi, and by 1922 the LA County Fairgrounds

called Pomona home (Metro Pomona, 2008). During the forties and fifties,

downtown Pomona’s Fox Theater was a venue for Fox studio previews because

of its large, everyday-American audience (Ascenzi, 2007). In film noir classic,

Sunset Boulevard, Joe Gillis snidely tells Norma Desmond -- about a screenplay

she has forced him to write -- "They'll love it in Pomona." She says, "They will

love it every place (Wikipedia, 2008)."

This incarnation of Pomona is where real-life Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz

honeymooned in 1940, and where -- more applicable to this artist colony plan --

the famous California painter Millard Sheets was raised (Wikipedia, 2008).

Sadly, Metro Pomona tells us, “...the golden age ended abruptly in 1954, when

the I-10 Freeway bulldozed through. Scores of homes were destroyed and

businesses followed the Freeway out of town (Metro Pomona, 2008). Downtown

Pomona fell apart throughout the 1960s as more businesses exited, leaving

downtown -- as the LA Times says -- “...a modern-day ghost town (Noriyuki,

2002).” In 1962, parts of downtown were turned into a pedestrian mall, which

failed when no one would leave their cars to walk to the businesses (Metro

Pomona, 2008). As well, the Montclair Plaza in nearby Montclair may have had

6

a negative effect. David Allen in his Inland Daily Bulletin article says, “The mall's

impact was felt almost immediately. Sleepy Montclair's share of taxable retail

sales rocketed while the former retail meccas, Ontario and Pomona, slipped. By

1976, according to a Progress Bulletin story that year, Pomona's downtown had

little more than storefront churches, antique stores and welfare offices. Ontario's

and Upland's downtowns were in decline. So while the Plaza secured Montclair's

future, its influence wasn't benign (Allen, 2008).”

Beginning in the seventies, some small changes did appear in downtown

Pomona: Antique stores opened, Western University located there, and artists

drifted in, saving many buildings from destruction. In an odd twist, the 1980’s

saw the new Phillips Ranch suburban Pomona development grow with great

success -- some say through its seemed “disassociation” with Pomona.

In the 1990’s the city named a section of downtown the “loft district,” and

officially called downtown a “major educational and cultural district,” which

inspired a preservation movement (Metro Pomona, 2008). Even still, Shigley, in

the California Planning and Development Report, says, downtown was “…

characterized by what one developer calls "occupied vacancies (Shigley, 2004).”

Residents of Pomona recently elected Norma Torres as Mayor, in 2005.

According to Wikipedia, she is “...the first woman of Guatemalan heritage to be

elected to a mayoral post outside of Guatemala (Wikipedia, 2008).” The city has

seen some small successes in downtown and has encouraged more private

development. This includes a plan to rehab the Fox Theatre – which is now

7

complete -- and also “provides housing finance assistance to multi-use projects,

which may include a transit-oriented development (Shigley, 2004).”

In the midst of this history, Edward Tessier, a developer, saw artists living

downtown and hit upon the idea of making this area an artist colony, which he

began in the 1990’s. According to the LA Times, “He helped open a coffee shop,

began developing artists’ lofts and recruiting arts organizations and galleries

(Noriyuki, 2002).” With creative use of zoning codes, he enticed struggling artists

from LA to this more affordable area (Shigley, 2004). By 2002, Tessier had

renovated 20 buildings, which house some of the 20 galleries, along with live-

work lofts, offices, restaurants, and nightclubs that comprised the artist colony

(Noriyuki, 2002) – and 200 artists called the area “home.” The famous writer,

Eldridge Cleaver, died in the Pomona Arts District in 1998 (Noriyuki, 2002), and

other notable artists are brought to the area through an artists-in-residence

program to help keep the district goals legitimate (Shigley, 2004). On the second

Saturday evening each month, an ArtWalk takes place, where anyone can visit

the galleries -- many of which feature Latino artists, which is an important

demographic which helped the surrounding neighborhoods to consider this

venture acceptable in their midst, according to many artists interviewed.

Ed Tessier and his brother (with whom he owns Arteco Partners, a

development company) have hailed the Colony as a success, since other cities,

in the past, paid him to bring the idea to their communities (Shigley, 2004).

Shigley says, “The Tessiers subscribe to Carnegie Mellon University Professor

Richard Florida's theory that the most economically successful cities are those

8

that attract the ‘creative class.’ In his book The Rise of the Creative Class,

Florida argues that “authentic, hip places attract the most diverse populations,

and the creative thinkers who drive the information-age economy want to live in

such places (Shigley, 2004).” While the city has a specific plan for downtown,

the process has been slow. City officials say they know that artist colonies often

lead to gentrification, but they need to take the chance (Shigley, 2004).

As the fifth largest city in Los Angeles County, Pomona is the venue for

the LA County Fair, the home of National Hot Rod Association drag racing, as

well as the location of the California State Polytechnic University. In 1999, it also

had the third highest murder rate in California and the 25th highest murder rate in

the country, both of which records the city has improved upon since that time

(Wikipedia, 2008). Below is a year 2000 chart from the FBI comparing Pomona

with other LA County towns:

9

In the Business Press, Raymond Fong, deputy executive director of

Pomona redevelopment said ‘"We need a landmark, something that will anchor

the rest of downtown, and that's what this [the Fox Theatre] can be...It will give us

the prestige we haven't had for years’ (Ascenzi, 2007)." Arteco also believed this

vision and completed a $7 million renovation of the Fox Theater. They received

tax credits on the project for creating low-income housing and also due to the 76-

year-old building being on the National Historic Register (Ascenzi, 2007).

Another Arteco project is the city sponsored renovation of the Mayfair

Hotel building, which appears as “for sale” on real estate websites, because it is

in foreclosure. On a recent visit to this structure, the basement was a temporary

ArtWalk gallery. An active housing project by Arteco, the Arts Colony Village, is

in progress -- according to Arteco’s website -- and another of their projects, the

Tate’s Building, is complete (Arteco Partners, 2008).

On a note of support, Cal Poly has opened a gallery in downtown Pomona

-- with the help of the Tessiers -- and a Tessier backed non-profit organization

built a charter high school that has been open since 2003 (Shigley, 2004).

Tessier said in 2004, “...in the long run, the schools make downtown housing

more realistic for families....Plus, the schools provide a safety net of stable

employment, which is attractive to potential retail developers and to artists

looking for day jobs (Shigley, 2004).”

10

Pomona Arts Colony.com

This researcher visited the Pomona Arts Colony during its November

2008, monthly ArtWalk event (and has since participated as a gallery-exhibited

artist). The yellow map that is distributed to patrons of this ArtWalk is shown

above. The buildings in the area are mainly commercial buildings from all eras of

the last century. For instance, the Cal Poly Downtown Art Gallery is in a

renovated mid-century bank building, the Edison Building artist lofts are in a

renovated old, brick turn-of-the-last-century industrial building, and the dA center

for the arts is in a 1940’s glass storefront building -- like many of the other

galleries around the neighborhood. Many of the oldest existing artist work-live

11

lofts are in old repair shop buildings that were former television or radio repair

shops.

This evening many of the twenty-four area art galleries were crowded with

art fans from all over the Los Angeles area, and the city had part of Second

Street (near Thomas Plaza) closed for a band that performed for what looked like

approximately two-hundred audience members. The dA Center for the Arts, a

local non-profit gallery was filled to standing-room-only capacity, however, their

literature announces that they are out of money in the current economic crisis

(dA Center for the Arts, 2008). However, as of October 2009, this gallery still

exists in its same exhibiting form.

There were a number of buildings that are, or looked to be, in the process

of renovation, including the work/loft Edison Building (since completed), on

Second Street, but many artists interviewed that night said that this enthusiastic

renovation process has stalled under the current financial “meltdown.” As bad as

this “meltdown” sounds, the artists were somewhat enthusiastic at the same

moment because this meant that their rents would not be rising anytime soon –

but sadly it also means that people might not buy as much artwork.

A fact that one notices on a stroll through the colony area is the large

amount of pamphlet literature laying next to doors touting the many non-profit

artist organizations in this area – such as the Pomona Valley Art Association, the

dA Center, the Downtown Pomona Owners Association, the American Museum

of Ceramic Art, etc... Which brings this story to a problem statement for this

thesis: The Pomona Arts Colony, as it exists, only effects itself -- and not the

12

wider community. It appears to be a temporary phase, and may disappear if

developers successfully use the artists for gentrification. While the ArtWalk

locations are busy during the event, and benefits from the “funky vibe” of the

wonderful artistic group who lives there, it is clear that this neighborhood truly is a

ghost town with a temporary party set up amidst its detritus.

The unofficial surrogate historian of the neighborhood appears to be an

artist who is a Catholic priest named Fr. Bill Moore. When you ask artists about

the history of the neighborhood they send you to Father Moore whose gallery is

on Second Street (cross-street with Parcels Street). When you ask Father

Moore, or any other artist living there, how they think the Colony will progress

they seem surprised that they should worry about a question such as this. They

appear to be of the opinion that this is indeed a temporary location and that they

will one day be forced out. When asked if they have any kind of agreement or

encouragement from the city, or their landlords, they report that there is no

agreement -- and forlornly -- that they will trundle on to another place and town

when rents inevitably increase. The only agreement that has been made,

according to artist Lisa Cabrera, is with the nearby gangs that the Arts Colony is

a no-gang zone.

THESIS STATEMENT

The purpose of this thesis paper is to identify those elements that are

common to healthy and successful artist colonies.

13

Webster’s Dictionary variously defines a “colony” as “a group of people

who settle in a distant land...,” “a community of people...of the same pursuits

concentrated in a similar district or place...,” but an important part of the definition

for urban planners is “a territory distant from the state having jurisdiction or

control over it... (Agnes, Webster's New World College Dictionary, 2000, pp. 288-

289).” This last thought could imply a responsibility for the welfare of a colony

which has at times been found lacking in artist colonies planted by city

governments.

The Popular “Sims” computer games have a spinoff game that is called

“Artist Colony (Oberon Media, 2009).” It is sometimes an inclination on the part

of people to control living breathing people in such a way as those who play this

and other “Sims” games. As seen in the Urban Renewal programs of past

planning practice, this is not only an exercise that people perform in video

games. It is hoped that a “real life” artist colony will be planted with more respect

than that given to the characters in a game. Because of this sometime oversight,

this thesis will attempt to answer the following question: What are the key

components to planting a successful Artist Colony -- given by those artists who

live this chosen profession -- that will help the planning official understand her/his

responsibility for the persons whose quality of life he/she has chosen to effect in

this way.

This thesis, if successful, may indeed be used for future policy planning,

as has evidently happened in large part with Florida’s research. It is hoped that

this study will augment Florida’s suggestions from his book with a further

14

understanding for the particular needs of the artistic arm of the creative

community. Further, this report is written with the intent to subsequently write an

article -- using research garnered from this thesis – for publication in scholarly

journals such as JAPA or Arts Management. If this is accomplished, the

researcher will ultimately revise the thesis report in a less-scholarly writing style

and expand the idea to a published book that could be easily enjoyed by the

general public.

The primary audience for this present research will be planners from cities

that consider using an artist colony to transform a blighted neighborhood. Also,

this researcher has received numerous requests from planning practitioners --

concerned with this issue – for a text of the findings of this thesis. This report will

also be a useful volume for artists who find the idea of planting an artist colony to

be an intriguing idea. It will prompt them, as they explore the concept, to plant a

colony with the dual objectives of success and social responsibility in mind.

For the last few years, Artist Colonies have been lauded by planning

professionals as an answer to economic troubles in blighted neighborhoods.

Using Richard Florida’s book, The Rise of the Creative Class, as inspiration,

some cities across the United States such as Pomona, the town where this

University resides, have encouraged the development of Artist Colonies. They

hope that this will be an organic way of solving a blight problem that was once

dealt with negatively through Urban Renewal programs.

GENTRIFICATION

15

David Zahniser in his LA Times article Gentrification City, says:

“Everyone wants to talk about gentrification — unless, of

course, that conversation is on the record... A shopkeeper on the

Eastside did not want to be named as she voiced fears that one

day her neighborhood could lose its Mexican-American residents.

A contractor, rehabbing a house in South Los Angeles, would not

produce a business card after he explained how he had cleaned

out a house once occupied by prostitutes and addicts. In other

words, the conversation gets uncomfortable once the topic shifts

from real estate to class, or race. Yet shouldn’t the neighborhood

rejoice that a drug house has disappeared? And why can’t we talk

openly about a whole class of people moving out? (Zahniser,

2007)”

In another investigative paper this researcher conducted -- to search for

the effects of gentrification -- the case study location was the first Historical

Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) in the city of Los Angeles, called “Angelino

Heights.” These HPOZ zones have much in common with artist colony districts.

This particular intact Victorian suburb was designated a HPOZ in 1983. The

folks who live in Angelino Heights, for the most part, have remained too poor to

renovate these homes throughout the years, and this may be the only reason

why this historical area has survived intact. The HPOZ designation for Angelino

Heights may eventually cause the lower-income families to move away and for

16

the neighborhood to become “Gentrified” -- an appalling situation, certain to be

destructive to the community.

In this current research -- for the people who live in Artist Colony/District

neighborhoods -- becoming an Artist Colony resident is not without significance.

While various government agencies take strides to help the low-income

homeowners, any new zoning rules or rise in property values may overwhelm

them. The district designation, possibly gives low-income homeowners the

uncomfortable feeling of... “Thank you for saving this beautiful place. Now get

out!” And, the sometimes majority of ethnic homeowners that live in the

neighborhood may think, when they see higher-income individuals moving in

(often primarily Caucasian persons), that this gentrification may seem to be a

form of racism.

Discernment of neighborhood perception in the process “colony planting”

is important to planners, considering the relatively small amount of research on

the subject of art colony designation that exists. There are numerous art

colonies in the Los Angeles area alone, plus many more on the horizon both here

in Los Angeles and in other towns. Planners, responsible for representing these

new zones and possible regulations, must gain knowledge of what problems art

colony designation might cause to low-income homeowners.

Artist Colonies have indeed received negative press for the last few years

with the concern that they lead to the “gentrification” of blighted neighborhoods --

and thus negatively effect the low income residents who already live in the area.

In that case, an Artist Colony, ironically, appears to guide current renewal

17

programs by the historically negative concept of “colonization” to replace or

convert the inhabitants. Furthermore, even the artists who move in to these

colonies are often unable to remain in the neighborhood once it is back on its feet

economically and must move on as missionaries to another blighted

neighborhood. Hoch et al. mention this situation in their book on local

government when they note:

“Historically...central business districts were used for

wholesaling and light industry. As these businesses moved further

out, vacant buildings were left behind. Some communities are

facilitating the transition of such areas to other uses, including

office space, housing and gallery space for artists, and lofts

residences...If these efforts do not focus on maintaining housing

for existing residents, a strong residential real estate market...may

price lower-income residents out of the housing market – a

phenomenon...known as gentrification (Hoch, 2000, p. 10).”

Gentrification, as defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary, comes from

the word “gentrify” which means “to convert (a deteriorated or aging area in a

city) into a more affluent middle-class neighborhood, as by remodeling dwellings,

resulting in increased property values and in displacement of the poor (Agnes,

Webster's New World College Dictionary, 2000).”

Heather MacIntosh, a Preservation Advocate for Historic Seattle notes:

“In the 1960s, historic preservation, as a public policy, a

movement, and a profession, crystallized in the US in response to

18

nationwide urban renewal efforts that removed large ‘blighted’

sections of cities, and the communities who lived there affordably.

Rather than clean up and improve historic neighborhoods, many

cities chose to clear megablocks for the construction of high-rise

projects. The destruction of community, human scale

neighborhoods, and the hyper-density of high rises soon proved to

be a huge mistake (McIntosh, 2008).” She goes on to tell us that

what is needed is “Sensitive Revitalization (McIntosh, 2008).” In

short, what she desires is a revitalization that brings together all

groups that will effect -- or be effected by -- the process. This

includes government, non-profits, as well as the property owners

themselves.

David Zahniser once again, in his provocative way says:

“As middle-income residents move in, neighborhoods that

once heard low-flying helicopters and automatic-weapons fire have

found a greater measure of peace. Working-class families who

scraped together the money to buy homes in the mid-1990s have

happily cashed out, making hundreds of thousands of dollars en

route to a five-bedroom home in Fontana, Las Vegas or Phoenix.

Those who stay behind, however, frequently find themselves in a

neighborhood they don’t recognize. And those who rent in a rapidly

gentrifying neighborhood discover that they gained physical

security while losing economic security, with rents rising steadily

19

and the inventory of reasonably priced homes shrinking (Zahniser,

2007).”

Is gentrification, nonetheless, a natural process that all neighborhoods go

through? Neighborhoods rise up, and fall down, then rise up once again all

through our history. Seattle Mayoral candidate, Mark Sidran, said in MacIntosh’s

article, “I think it's a huge challenge because cities are living organisms. They

reinvent themselves, they change or they die, and the only thing worse than a

city that's changing and improving and growing is a city that's doing the opposite

of those things (McIntosh, 2008).”

In the LA Weekly, writer Zahniser again put yet another face on the issue

that was playing out at the time he wrote his article:

“Welcome to Gentrification City, where an overheated real

estate market is dramatically reshaping neighborhood after

neighborhood, where no one — from Salvadoran immigrants living

in tenements to homeowners in affluent coastal neighborhoods —

is being spared by the dramatic changes wrought by a condo-

fueled, property-mad economy. Tenants are appalled by rising

rents, fearing the day their buildings could be demolished or

cleaned out for a new class of buyer. Homeowners who have built

up a ridiculous amount of equity have watched even as their

communities change before their eyes. The sense of dislocation is

everywhere (Zahniser, 2007).”

20

Gentrification is indeed a painful subject. One that may have slowed with

the current recession, but certainly demands answers before the next rise in the

housing market forces us to deal with the issue as planners.

21

LITERATURE REVIEW

THE BACKGROUND

Richard Florida’s book/study The Rise of the Creative Class has become

an outline for planners who wish to promote a stronger economy in blighted

neighborhoods. His 434 page study is where the current popularity of planting

artist colonies for neighborhood redevelopment found its calling. Florida believes

that today’s economy is a “creative economy” where “knowledge” and

“information” are “its products (Florida, 2002, p. 44).”

With the popularity of this book, it has also become the goal of many

scholars to tear apart Florida’s findings, because it goes against traditional

thought. He calls the old bureaucratic way of working “stifling (Florida, 2002, p.

41).” Paraphrasing Whyte’s book, The Organization Man Florida says, “...big

corporations of the time selected and favored the type of person who goes along

to get along, rather than those who might go against the grain (Florida, 2002, p.

41).” Florida says that his theory of economic growth is that it is grown by

creative people who choose a place that is open-minded. Contrary to popular

opinion, Florida’s findings seem to show that even with technological innovations,

the creative community still desires to be part of a community. For these people,

the living environment is the first consideration and then the selection of a

22

workplace and Florida also mentions that other experts have found that

“clustering captures efficiencies (Florida, 2002, p. 220).”

He agrees with Jane Jacobs economic constructs in varied ways. He

praises her emphasis on short blocks, diverse people, wide sidewalks, different

types of structures, people with different schedule, and the “public characters”

that Jacobs says is needed in a good neighborhood (Florida, 2002). Florida

particularly concurs with Jacobs when he calls our current economy a creative

economy that is run by those who innovate. He warns those that would throw

money at the issue that, while venture capital helps to encourage innovation, it is

not the answer to innovation. Innovation arises from neighborhoods that have a

“social structure of innovation (Florida, 2002, p. 51).”

Florida’s finds that the driving needs that encourage a creative class

individual to move into a neighborhood -- and thereby transform its economy –

are talent, tolerance, and technology or, as he calls them, the Three T’s (Florida,

2002). Some of the research that he and Information Week Magazine conducted

found that what IT workers -- who he places in the creative class -- want in a job

are: challenge and responsibility, flexibility, stability and security, compensation,

professional development, peer recognition, stimulating colleagues and

managers, exciting job content organizational culture, location and community.

Then later he tells us that the selection of a neighborhood, which is paramount, is

done by picking those places with a lifestyle that has: social interaction, diversity,

authenticity, identity, quality of place – especially a place that can be molded to a

23

creative person’s liking – and another ingredient was the nearness of the city to

an institution of higher learning (Florida, 2002).

The study by Donegan et al intends to find fault with planners who use

Florida’s findings. They believe that a policymaker’s intentions to encourage the

creative class to a neighborhood, in an effort to repair an economy, are unsound.

To quote their findings, “We find that differences in Florida’s measures of

creativity are generally associated with differences in metropolitan economic

performance. Indicators of human capital and industry composition perform as

well or better than talent, tolerance, and technology... (Donegan, Drucker,

Goldstein, Lowe, & Malizia, 2008, p. 180).” They call what policymakers are

doing “misallocating scarce public resources (Donegan, Drucker, Goldstein,

Lowe, & Malizia, 2008, p. 181)” and with the intention to prove this they bring

together a large team of researchers to conduct this study. However, what they

appear to miss in Florida’s assumptions is that when the neighborhood becomes

more economically sound, artists often disappear from these neighborhoods.

They agree with this in a small way by saying, “Planners could use Florida’s

arguments to lend support to many worthwhile development activities, including

downtown revitalization, entertainment district improvement, compact higher-

density projects, and promotion of the visual and performing arts (Donegan,

Drucker, Goldstein, Lowe, & Malizia, 2008, p. 191).”

Another critic, Markusen announces in the abstract to her study, “...the

implausibility of their [the artists] common cause with other members of Florida’s

creative class, such as scientists, engineers, mangers and lawyers (Markusen,

24

2006, 1921).” She has trouble with Florida’s definition of the creative class and

believes that they cluster based on their educational status. Her trouble with

Florida is that she feels his interviews and his and anecdotal references do not

show a complete picture (Markusen, Urban development & the politics of a

creative class: Evidence from the study of artists, 2006). Her research, however,

does give more credence to the use of artists in economic development as

explained in a later section of this review.

Florida’s book receives a long critique from Peck in his article. He uses

one of Florida’s former teachers, Peter Marcuse, to sum up his feelings when he

says in the report about the book, “Well written in an almost chatty style, it reads

like a series of well-crafted after-dinner speeches at various chamber of

commerce dinners (Peck, 2005, p. 741).” But, Peck does agree that Florida

found that the Creative class was drawn to the “magnetic ‘qualities of space’

(Peck, 2005, p. 744).” He points out that the State of Michigan started a “Cool

Cities” program based in part on Florida’s research with the intention to give

grants to places in the state that have “creative class”-encouraging elements.

From the Michigan grant process he says these elements are: “mixed-income

housing opportunities, pedestrian friendly environment, commercial retail...,

championing neighborhood/organizing mechanisms, higher density, clean/cared

for public and private space, food venue options..., historic districts..., recreation

opportunities/parks, arts – galleries, shops, venues, [and] accessibility (Peck,

2005, p. 747).”

25

Peck quotes many detractors such as Edward Glaeser, who says that the

creative class doesn’t want the three T’s, they want “the three S’s of skills, sun,

and sprawl (Peck, 2005, p. 749).” Malanga, another detractor, questions whether

Florida measured his research in a way to make it prove his bias toward liberals

(Peck, 2005, p. 749). Peck in the long run does agree partly with Florida in that

“For the average Mayor, there are few downsides to making the city safe for the

creative class – a creativity strategy can be quite easily bolted on to business-as-

usual urban-development policies (Peck, 2005, p. 752).”

THE ARTIST COLONY DEFINED

As stated in the Introduction, defining the term “Artist Colony” is difficult.

In some of the literature, as well as in popular culture, the terms “artist colony”

and “arts district” are interchangeable. For instance, in popular culture writing,

such as Nick Fong’s article in Coastal Living Magazine, the writer calls such

places as Carmel-by-the-Sea, to Provincetown, Massachusetts, to Rockport,

Texas…all artist colonies (Fong, 2009). Some would argue that these are just

towns with many artists living there. They may have each had a purposeful

“colony” at one time, but often they are now a loose confederation. Many

researchers have differing opinions on this issue. This said, for the purposes of

this thesis, those terms will remain interchangeable as a purposeful clustering of

artists in a particular place.

26

The migration and clustering of artists is studied by O’Hagen &

Hellmanzik. They state in their findings, “The data show that important artists

clustered in all periods at a remarkably high level (O'Hagen & Hellmanzik, 2008,

p. 121).” They also used an interesting method to find a data set. O’Hagen &

Hellmanzik scoured the biographies of 876 artists from the Oxford Dictionary of

Art and the German art dictionary called, Reclams Kunsterlexicon, and followed

their lifetime migrations. They did indeed find clustering, but they did not go so

far as to say why (O'Hagen & Hellmanzik, 2008).

A study by Galenson looks at prominent artists at their periods of highest

innovation. It appears to a good model to follow in discovering at what point in

an artist’s career an artist colony could be useful. The data set he used was

inventive in that he conducted a survey of all art textbooks (33) written in English

since 1990. Counting pictures of the most important works in artist careers, he

found a pattern for his study to follow. He believes that this shows when a career

for an artist is at its zenith. Many of his findings, interestingly, found one artist,

Picasso, to have multiple important career eras (Galenson, 2008).

Bain’s rich study is discussed in other sections of this review as well, but

initially her study explains the locations where artists tend to group together in

cities, and why (Bain, 2003). Her study quotes from Cole’s ground-breaking

study, which provides further credence to this study, that “the location of artists’

living and working space has the most profound effect on land-use change (Bain,

2003, p. 305).”

27

ARTIST COLONIES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Jane Jacobs, in her book, “Cities and the Wealth of Nations,” espoused

the well-known economic development subject of “import placement.” She tells

us that “city import replacing of any significance occurs explosively and

unleashes five great economic forces of expansion: city markets for new and

different imports; abruptly increased city jobs; technology for increasing rural

production and productivity; transplanted city work; city generated capital

(Jacobs, 1985, p. 47).”

In seeming ironic fashion to Markusen’s critique of Florida, her research

methodology was the use of interviews as well, but she supplements this with

surveys. What Markusen found does agree with Jacobs in that “Artists...boost

regional growth by providing import-substituting consumption activities for

residents and through direct export of their work (Markusen, 2006, p.1921).”

Their high education and contention with “status quo” causes great innovation

that improves neighborhoods, but often causes gentrification. There is also a

“chicken or the egg” dynamic to her message in that she believes the urban

environment also creates artists.

The Fund for Folk Culture was the subject of Walker et al’s report. This

fund was underwritten by the Ford Foundation to see if development agencies

could encourage folk artists to increase their place in the market. Small gains

were made initially, but, they say “...from a long-term perspective, we find solid

grounds for future collaboration between traditional arts organizations and

28

economic developers (Walker, Jackson, & Rosenstein, 2003, p. 1).” They also

suggest that artists and their organizations should partner with several economic

and urban development agencies.

Walker et al espouse that, “Traditional arts can support economic

development by strengthening communities, stimulating demand for local

products, and supporting the economic activities of other local businesses.

Economic developers can help traditional arts accomplish these goals by

providing market information and making direct investments according to a clear

and well-grounded economic plan (Walker, Jackson, & Rosenstein, 2003, p. 3).”

Hoch et al in their practical book, “The Practice of Local Government

Planning,” tell us that “Cities do not follow a set of simple rules. Instead, cities

are made up of complex, changing, and often unpredictable physical and social

relationships (Hoch, 2000, p. 20).” This appears to remind planners that the one-

size-fits-all equation, often used to deal with tough planning issues, is a wrong-

headed way to go about economic development. In the case of Artist Colonies,

what can be done is follow this ever-changing environment and look for current

trends, then adjust as time passes.

Lloyd, who will be discussed later in this chapter, tells us that our oft-used

economic development “...emphasis on big-ticket items like athletic stadiums

locates the production of new urban space solely in the hands of developers and

political elites. It obscures more evolutionary processes of cultural development,

including the expanding role played by traditional patterns of urban subcultural

affiliation and artistic innovation in the postindustrial economy... (Lloyd, 2002, p.

29

519).” He says it takes special “urban arrangements” to cause creativity to grow

(Lloyd, 2002).

Kirk, in an Urban Land article says that, “Artists, rather than developers or

city governments are often catalysts for change in old industrial districts, creating

a hip, bohemian atmosphere that helps make neighborhoods attractive (Kirk,

2009, p. 55).” Kirk also quotes Michael Yame, development advisor in the San

Francisco Mayor’s Office of Workforce and Economic Development, in his praise

of artists who redeveloped areas like the SoMa district. He says, “If we lose the

arts community, we also lose our competitive edge in attracting the best and

brightest (Kirk, 2009, p. 57).”

A question that should be asked at this point is “How much money do

artist’s make?” Filer found in his 1986 study on the earnings of artists from the

1980 census, that artists do not seem “to make less than other workers of similar

training and personal characteristics (Filer, 1986, p. 56).” He says that even

artists do not know that “The Starving Artist” is a myth. He also saw that fewer

artists leave their occupation than those in other groups, and over time they earn,

for the most part, the same amount of lifetime earnings as those in other

professions.

Filer then begins to break this apart when he reveals that artist earnings

widely differ from artist to artist and that self-selection as an artist may have a lot

to do with who is talented enough to be considered a professional artist from the

onset. Another pattern emerges as well, that skews research, and that is with

the introduction of many artists from other countries that relocate to the US

30

because they are already notable, well-paid artists. However, other stereotypes

appear when he says that artists work fewer hours than others, which he did

admit might be accounted for in the time that artists take “looking or preparing

(Filer, 1986, p. 61).”

Useful to this study, Filer notes that many artists cluster in areas like New

York or California which gives rewards through the agglomeration of artist

resources. He notes that artistic pursuits are a stable career and that

employment seemed, at that time, to be growing rapidly -- although different

mediums, within those that are defined as art, have a difference in earnings.

Craig talks about the benefits that are garnered from sharing art, and in

particular, poetry. She mentions that art “must extend beyond economic

matters...,” and she calls this thought “another side of sustainability – generative

relations among the artists themselves (Craig, 2007, p. 266).” This is a benefit of

artist colonies that reminds planners that economic growth may not be the sole

important benefit of artist colonies and that the enjoyment of shared goods is just

as important of a goal. She says, “A shared good is simply good because it is

shared (Craig, 2007, p. 268).”

THE ELEMENTS OF ARTIST COLONIES

Sidney Brower in his book “Good Neighborhoods” studied the

environment needed to consider a part of town to be a true neighborhood. He

calls the elements he found: ambiance, choicefullness, and engagement

31

(Brower, 2000, p. 20). Ambiance, he says, “refers to the nature, mix, and

intensity of land uses and the form of the physical environment (Brower, 2000, p.

20).” Engagement, means “...the nature and extent of the interaction among

residents and the presence of facilities and features that foster or inhabit these

interactions (Brower, 2000, p. 20).” Then Choicefullness is “...the opportunities

for residents to choose alternative locations, lifestyles and living arrangements

(Brower, 2000, p. 20).”

Throughout the study of this literature, a clear picture of the basic needs of

artists, in particular, appears. Kirk says it best in her article, when she says that

“Abandoned warehouses, with large floor plates, high ceilings, and low rents, are

a good fit for artists (Kirk, 2009, p. 55).”

Bain’s study is useful for adding terms that inform the elements of a

successful artist colony. For Bain’s methodology she used informal interviews of

professional artists in a qualitative manner which included open coding of her

transcripts. She finds that artists gravitate toward un-gentrified neighborhoods as

well as marginal, neglected and overlooked spaces that are not exemplified in

“current dominant values (Bain, 2003).” She also quotes Zukin’s report on lofts

from 1982 to describe popular artist spaces of the 1960’s as having “cheap rents,

unobstructed, open-space floor plan, oversized windows and raw, unfinished

quality... (Bain, 2003, p. 304)” -- and adds further -- “generous amounts of natural

light (Bain, 2003, p. 305)...”

Bain then breaks down the geographic selections of artists into the

following elements: “artistic urban frontier” – a place lacking cleanliness and

32

safety, “improvisational space” – a place that can be changed, and a

“neighborhood” – a place for artists to network away from isolation (Bain, 2003).

Markusen explains that artists are encouraged to network through,

“...clubhouses, live/work and studio buildings and smaller performing art spaces

(Markusen, 2006, p.1922)...” Clubhouses have been important places for artists

to learn from other artists and, notably, older artists. She believes that much of

current artist migration outward from parts of Los Angeles and New York has

occurred through changes in NEA funding. The move to other cities came about

through the attributes of those places’ “...livability, artistic networks, and

philanthropic support (Markusen, 2006, p.1933).” She notes that in the Twin City

area of Minnesota, much arts funding comes from the 3M Corporation. The

support for clubhouses has also come from, “...city loans and donations of city-

owned land and buildings, Neighborhood Reinvestment Program funds,

Foundation investments and grants, and state/regional arts board’s funds

(Markusen, 2006, p.1940).”

With support from a study by Lloyd, Markusen conjectures that artists pick

neighborhoods that are “...denser, more central urban neighborhoods within

metropolitan areas than do residents as a whole, often to seedy, transitional

neighborhoods (Markusen, 2006, p.1933).” Studio buildings help them network

more through building conversions that use, “...low income tax credits, historical

preservation tax credits, city loans and land or building write-downs (Markusen,

2006, p.1941).”

33

A gold mine of suggestions come about from Rosenfeld’s study

conducted for the State of Montana in understanding how to nurture its clusters

of artists around the state. He calls these, “suggested actions (Rosenfeld, 2004,

p. 901).” In brief those nine suggested actions are: “...treat creative enterprises

as an area for potential growth,” “Increase emphasis on art and design...” in

schools, “offer incentives to live in less prosperous parts of the state,” “establish

cluster one-stop resource centers,” “...integrate art and industry,” “tax...incentives

for...creative enterprises to attract talented people,” workshops in creative arts,”

“establish partnering relationships...that lead to marketing activities (Rosenfeld,

2004, pp. 901-902).”

Markusen & Schrock’s study arrives at three suggestions to cities that

plan for “artistic dividends.” They are: 1) “support for artist centres,” 2)

“tightening the connections between an existing corporate community and

resident artists,” 3) “allocating public dollars to the arts (Markusen & Schrock,

The artistic dividend: Urban artistic specialisation and economic development

implications, 2006, p. 1683).” They suggest that using the U.S. Census is the

best way to find the representation of the numbers of artists in a community.

They found that Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco are the largest artist

centers, as one may have guessed. Los Angeles has five times the norm for

artists in the U.S. (Markusen & Schrock, The artistic dividend: Urban artistic

specialisation and economic development implications, 2006, p. 1682).

34

ARTIST COLONIES AND GENTRIFICATION

To begin this section, a definition from an oft-used planning reference tries

to set this discussion on a clear path. Hoch et al,” define gentrification and the

subject of redevelopment in urban areas this way:

“Historically, areas surrounding central business districts

were used for wholesaling and light industry. As these businesses

moved further out, vacant buildings were left behind. Some

communities are facilitating the transition of such areas to other

uses, including office space, gallery and office space for artists,

and loft residences... If these efforts do not focus on retaining

housing for existing residents, a strong residential real estate

market for rehabilitated housing may price lower-income residents

out of the housing market – a phenomenon that is known as

gentrification (Hoch, 2000, p. 10).”

Gentrification, as defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary,

comes from the word “gentrify” which means “to convert (a deteriorated or

aging area in a city) into a more affluent middle-class neighborhood, as by

remodeling dwellings, resulting in increased property values and in

displacement of the poor (Agnes, Webster’s New World College

Dictionary, 2000).”

Stephen Wheeler, in his book “Planning for Sustainabilty,” gives a

useful suggestion for sustaining neighborhood equity. He says, “If done

35

through inclusive and participatory processes, preparation of

neighborhood or community plans can be an important mechanism to

enhance local democracy and equitable decision-making.” (Wheeler,

2004, p. 212)

Ley’s study on gentrification and artists is quoted in many of the other

studies in this group. His finding that “The reconfiguration of matter involves also

the reconfiguration of meaning; an act of transformation has converted junk to

valued products (Ley, 2003, p. 2529),” explains in brief that: what artists do in a

blighted neighborhood is similar to what they do when they create art. Ley

quotes Habermas for support with “the avant-garde must find a direction in a

landscape into which no one seems to have yet ventured (Ley, 2003, p. 2533).”

He found that the locations of artists in four Canadian cities are predictors of

gentrification in those different tracts. Ley says that those who move in after the

artists have transformed the neighborhood claim “cultural competency” by living

near the artists, which makes “the edge...a new centre (Ley, 2003, p. 2541).”

Cameron & Coaffee further the study of artists and gentrification. They

describe the process as a wave of artist/colonizers/pioneers move in to an old

neighborhood, then a second wave of capital follows and forces the artist out,

and now in a third wave, cities form policies to use artists as “gentrifiers.” They

believe that the appeal to artists in this process is, initially, the cheap cost to live

in these areas (Cameron & Coaffee, 2005).

Martin, in The New York Times reports that, “It is a truism of urban

redevelopment: whatever shabby spot artists choose to populate, that place will

36

be gentrified next. A related truth goes like this: as the neighborhood turns

upscale, the artists are forced out to find new and funkier circumstances (Martin,

2005).” They continue by saying that the developer of New York’s Monroe

Center Development has plans to mitigate gentrification, keep the neighborhood

culture, and importantly, to help the seventy artists who created this nice

neighborhood to stay. The developer proposes to accomplish this goal while

adding new retail, plazas, and a park to the area that is near a newly built transit

village (Martin, 2005). They say their plan will ensure that “Ten percent of the

Monroe Center housing will be set aside for low- and moderate-priced units,

which will be offered to artists before the general public (Martin, 2005).”

In the current poor economy that exists, it is interesting to see that artists

are seen as a way to solve foreclosure problems that exist throughout the U.S.

by having them fill the empty spaces. Alter’s Wall Street Journal article on

“Artists vs. Blight” quotes Robert McNulty, from Partners for Livable

Communities, talking about the use of artists for help when he says, “The worse

things get, the more creative you have to become (Alter, 2009).” An organization

in Cleveland called Community Partnership for Arts and Culture is putting

together a website for artists to learn of foreclosed and vacant spaces. Some of

HUD’s Neighborhood stabilization Program money is being used by a developer

in Cleveland to renovate properties as artist residences. Using an innovative

move, in St. Louis, a shopping mall is charging low $100 rents for artists to fill

empty stores (Alter, 2009). Through Alter’s article it appears that even during

this emergency situation the various aspects of gentrification remain fixed in

37

people’s thoughts. Through all of this economic tension, a positive comment

stands out as mentioned by a developer, Brian Friedman, who says, “Our chief

goal is ownership [for artists]. We don’t want the neighborhood to gentrify them

out (Alter, 2009).”

CASE STUDIES OF ARTIST COLONIES

As mentioned earlier, Lloyd conducted an ethnographic study in Chicago

to support his idea of a “neo-bohemia.” His neighborhood for study was the

Wicker Park area which he feels exemplifies the elements of neo-bohemia. He

feels that these elements are: 1) “displacement of older economic functions,” 2)

“culture as commodity,” 3) “educated, culturally competent workers (Lloyd, 2002,

p. 518).” Lloyd says those individuals who participate in the economics of this

neighborhood purposely harken back to bohemian lifestyles. He calls this

“bohemian chic” and “diversity that often fetishizes the gritty and the illicit as

authentic (Lloyd, 2002, p. 518).” He proceeds further to say that the capital

investment that goes along with this atmosphere tends to work against itself and

makes for a homogenized environment (Lloyd, 2002).

Lloyd primarily conducted interviews, observation, and census data to

formulate his findings. The interviews were two hours each, and conducted with

around 36 informants that he drew from “local artists, designers, entrepreneurs,

and service workers (Lloyd, 2002, p. 520).” He says that these people seek

historical spaces that can’t be found in suburbia. He tells us that the “embedded

38

culture” in these environments is “raw material in new productive processes

(Lloyd, 2002, p. 524)” The bohemians resourcefully transform these spaces, add

value by being there, and live in these working class neighborhoods through

“privileged marginality (Lloyd, 2002).” They agree to take less compensation in

the effort to live in a bohemian neighborhood.

Over time, Wicker Park has become a safer community, and for the neo-

bohemians that live there, this is a negative. Lloyd says they miss having their

art amidst the decay and diversity of the neighborhood, but they also know that

they had a small part in causing the change (Lloyd, 2002). This seems

reminiscent of the real life Cannery Row in Monterey that has transformed from

John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row” haven for the down-and-out to a place where

richer person’s can feel safe in exploring the idea of what was once there.

Cole’s study follows three groups of artists who left Manhattan for New

Jersey when rents became too high after that artistic area gentrified. These

three groups started all over again in the towns of Hoboken, Jersey City, and

Newark (Cole, 1987). This article was written at the time when this kind of

gentrification was become a hot-button issue.

Hoboken started seeing artists from Manhattan begin to move to this area

in the 1960’s, says Cole. When this area began to gentrify, the Hoboken

Community Redevelopment Agency started an affordable housing policy that

helped both artist and low-income residents stay. In 1982, when Cole’s article

was written, the artists were also trying to buy their own residences, because

39

light-industry needed their large spaces, but this would have weakened the bond

between them and their low-income neighbors (Cole, 1987).

Cole found that the Jersey City artist community grew as a result of the

City designating the area the River View Arts District. No mention of any

gentrification is made in this study, however, the district designation was part of a

development plan, which was not in a blighted area, but had a few low-income

residents who were mostly Hispanic. The special zoning from the City allowed

artists to live and work in their studios. At the time of Cole’s article, the artist

rents were becoming too high and those who had not purchased their studios

were feeling they were used as part of a real estate plan to make the area look

good (Cole, 1987).

Cole explains that Newark’s artist population moved into safer, more

stable – but low-income – multiple neighborhoods, and what is interesting is that

many black artists made this migration. The migration was spread out

throughout the area rather than concentrated. They had little quantifiable effect

but some noticed that some developers found their communities and would begin

to capitalize on artist presence because they make the area appear “safer” to the

middle class (Cole, 1987).

In all three of these cities of migration Cole felt that the only way artists

would not have to move out of a neighborhood was if they could own their homes

and workspaces. He also sadly noted that his study found that artists were

indeed involved in the redevelopment and displacement process in the New

Jersey suburbs of New York. He did mention that some of the artists were

40

attempting to start organizations with their low-income neighbors to stop the

process, but that the neighbors resented the artist leadership (Cole, 1987).

Kirk’s article has current case studies of what financial incentives have

worked in helping differing artist colonies to get on their feet. In St. Louis, the city

– said Otis Williams of the St. Louis Development Corporation -- offered

“developers financial incentives on a case-by-case basis, including tax

abatement at the 18-story Syndicate Building in exchange for dedication of one

floor to affordable live/work space for artists (Kirk, 2009, p. 56).” In Dallas,

developer, Jack Matthews, requests that artists teach classes to children and do

“creative projects to enhance the development’s atmosphere” in exchange for

lower rents (Kirk, 2009, p. 59). In St. Paul’s Warehouse District, help was given

to artists through non-profit organizations who created live/work spaces that

catered to artists with families (Kirk, 2009).

Grant’s article in “American Artist Magazine,” also provides useful

information on the development of Artist Colonies in diverse parts of the U.S. He

says in example that:

“Maryland and Rhode Island...have legislated tax incentives

specifically for artists, exempting them from the payment of state

sales and income taxes for artworks produced and sold in special

districts where artists reside. The catch is that artists have to be

eligible to receive these benefits. In other words, their art form

must be one that is recognized by their state, and must go through

41

an application procedure to receive the benefits offered (Grant,

2006, p. 72).”

In Providence, Rhode Island, Grant says that the town has created

a Department of Art, Culture & Tourism that specifically caters to the

needs of artists who are looking for funding and grants, needing studio

space, and trying to deal with economic issues. Grant continues with

other small examples of incentives that may encourage artists to an area:

“Six states – Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New

Mexico, and North Carolina – permit an artist’s death tax to

be paid with artwork... Two additional states (California and

Michigan) allow artists’ heirs several years to raise funds

for...real estate taxes...to hold off on selling artwork...

Oregon...permits artists to deduct the fair-market value of

artwork donated to nonprofit institutions (Grant, 2006, p.

73)...”

On a down note, Powers’ article on the Las Vegas art district, serves as a

reminder that not all redevelopment plans using artists progress as some intend.

In 2002, an art gallery owner and others in Las Vegas set up an unofficial arts

district and asked the city to help out. The city was willing to lend a hand since it

had a redevelopment project progressing in the downtown area already. The city

repaired the streets, lighting, landscaping and helped to support a community art

crawl of sorts. But, the district has constantly struggled and, in the current, poor

42

economy, 30 of 170 galleries in Las Vegas went out of business and more are

soon to close. In spite of this sobering statistic, some are not ready to blame the

artists, but place responsibility on a Las Vegas economy that is built solely on

gambling and other forms of entertainment (Powers, 2009).

43

METHODOLOGY

This intent of this study is to use mixed methodology (both qualitative and

quantitative) in the pursuit for discovering the elements of a successful artist

colony/district. This study is by no means a complete study of artist colony

elements. It does however increase the knowledge of this subject for the field of

Urban and Regional Planning.

Originally, this analysis planned to use a statistical study to discover what

effect an artist colony has on its home neighborhood. Consequently, a short

study was conducted to find a method to accomplish this investigation. A classic

statistical study was performed of the neighborhood surrounding the Pomona

Arts Colony in California in an effort to understand the existing conditions in this

local (to Cal Poly) colony. Population, median household income, housing

tenure, and other relevant statistics were studied at the tract, or block, levels from

the U.S. Census and then compared to the county and state level figures. In this

study of the Pomona Arts Colony, it was found that the median household

income in the 2006 Community Survey for Pomona was $46,544. In the 2000

census, the 1999 median family income for Pomona was $37,660, as compared

to Los Angeles County’s 2006 figure of $46,452, and the State of California’s

$53,025 (the median for entire U.S. was $50,046). Sadly, the figure for the

downtown Pomona tract (of which the Arts Colony is a part) exhibited a dismal

$22,754, which is the minimum figure for Pomona. The maximum was $89,569

in Phillip’s Ranch, an upscale residential tract in Pomona. The median nonfamily

44

income for the downtown tract was $12,545, which is, again, the minimum tract

for Pomona when considering similar figures across the other units of

measurement (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008).

The 2000 total occupied housing in Pomona according to the 2000 census

was 37,074 of which 21,140 were owner occupied and 15,934 were renter

occupied. In the downtown census tract, there were 1,107 housing units, 170 of

which were owner occupied and 937 were renter occupied (U.S. Census Bureau,

2008). This information, of course, does not bode well for showing an artist

colony as an “economic engine.”

This statistical study found little evidence of prosperity in this artist colony

which has existed in one form or another for many years shows that a much

larger study would need to be conducted to find the effect that artist colonies

have on their local economies. Unfortunately, this type of study does not provide

evidence of other qualities which could be argued to be more important, such as

quality of life issues. For instance, the local artists in Pomona had a hand in

making the Arts Colony district a “gang-free zone” which is certainly a valuable

quality of life improvement for the citizens of Pomona. That said, the researcher

decided that other more efficient studies could be performed within the bounds of

this thesis.

ARTIST CLUSTERING AND MIGRATIONS

45

First, it is an interesting task to track O’Hagen & Hellmanzik’s (O'Hagen &

Hellmanzik, 2008) study methodology a step further and find out where

successful artists clustered during their lives and careers in a search through the

artist biographies in the Oxford Dictionary of Art and the Reclams Kunsterlexicon.

This study would also make note of the migration of the artists to see if they

clustered into specific locations with other successful artists. It is significant, that

the magnetism of places such as the Cabaret Voltaire, in Zurich, for Dadaist

artists or the Moulin Rouge for the Impressionists in Montmartre, France appear

as generative gathering places for successful artists -- and could be said to be

“artist colonies,” although not recognized as such. Further, if artists do not

normally gather in certain regions to engage in their professional careers, there is

the possibility that it may be a waste of resources for a planner to take on

creating a colony in one of these areas – or, at the least, they would find it to be

an uphill battle.

Early in this study, it was discovered that Oxford University Press

publishes an Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists (Morgan, 2008),

which provides for a more local artist study of the United States. This is after all

the area where the planners -- to which this study is directed -- are planting artist

colonies and would find useful results in this thesis.

The variables gathered from the Oxford Dictionary of American Art and

Artists were: “Birthplace,” “Colleges or Universities Attended,” “Living Locations

as Adult,” and “Place of Death.” Out of their importance to the world of art, a few

persons with ancillary roles in the art world, such as important art collectors or

46

gallery owners, were added to the dictionary due to their indispensable role --

such as the gallery owner Betty Parsons (Morgan, 2008, pp. 360-361). They are

often the people whom artist colonies are formed around. Therefore, they are

included in this dictionary and are included in this study. The researcher noted

all of these variables throughout the dictionary and input this information into a

Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for further analysis.

It appears that the editor of the Dictionary followed a format for information

related in each artist “definition” and the ability to glean all of these variables was

notably consistent throughout the Dictionary. At rare times it was difficult to

discern the location of a variable, from the dictionary; therefore that individual fact

was omitted from the study. For instance, at times the author of the individual

“definition” of an artist may have assumed that a reader would know in what state

a city named was located. If it was not clear where said city was located, this

researcher omitted that city name from the Excel spreadsheet.

When all of the variables were input, from the Oxford Dictionary of

American Art and Artists (Morgan, 2008), there were over 3500 rows of

information gathered in the Excel spreadsheet. The entries were then studied

through descriptive statistics, and analysis of variance (ANOVA).

ARTIST SURVEY

The next research was conducted by online survey, and hand distribution,

beginning in June 2009. Rosenfeld’s study arrived at categories for nurturing

47

artistic communities, and a survey was determined to be the best way to further

the findings from this earlier study (Rosenfeld, 2004). The survey for this current

research was created and posted on the online survey website named

“SurveyMonkey (SurveyMonkey, 2009),” and asked artists to relate examples of

appropriate, or inappropriate, elements of an artist colony/district. It was

anticipated that this research will also add value to the findings of the

researchers described in the literature review, such as Florida, Bain and

Rosenfeld, as well as Markusen and Schrock, in their various studies. This style

of survey process appears to be a conventional process for qualitative as well as

qualitative research, as related to the class by two visiting qualitative-specialist

Professors from Cal Poly for this researcher’s URP 502L class.

The twenty-two (22) questions asked in the survey were both qualitative

and quantitative. The questions consisted of normal demographic, quantitative

statistics such as sex, race, and state the artists live in, to qualitative questions

such as: “Do you have any opinion you would like to relate about the possibility of

gentrification caused by an artist colony?” Or: “If you do not live in an artist

colony/district, what is the most important element that a city government could

provide to encourage you to move to one?” The goal of the researcher was to

gather the answers of more than two-hundred (200) artist respondents, and was

distributed in five ways: email, online artist organization distribution lists, hand-

distribution of fliers, placement of fliers in artist gathering places, and setting up a

survey table at a local artist colony “arts walk.”

48

This researcher has an extensive email list of his fellow students, his

fellow artists, and from his own contact list as a stand-up comedian, to which was

sent an initial request for these persons to distribute a request to artists for

responding to the survey. Next, the researcher spent the last two years

connecting with artists through websites such as LinkedIn, MySpace and

Facebook. All of these friends and artists were contacted with a request to

spread the announcement of the survey. Within these same online community

sites the researcher had joined many artist announcement distribution lists to

which were sent announcements of the survey, after which resulted in the

Facebook staff threatening to cancel the researcher’s account.

In the same last two years, the researcher spent time becoming a member

of various online artist gathering spaces such as MyArtSpace, AMP (Artist

Meeting Place), and Deviant Art, through which many artists were notified of the

survey. Then the researcher also conducted searches through the Google

search engine and contacted the leaders of artist websites, artist colonies, artist

teaching institutions, and others (three at least, daily) for approximately three

months adding up to 150, and more, personal contacts.

Fliers were also distributed. The researcher created a flier with the

announcement of the survey that included the survey website address. The

researcher hand distributed stacks of fliers to artist gathering places or places for

artist resources, such as Bergamot Station (Artist Galleries) in Santa Monica,

Blick Art Supply Store in West Los Angeles, and the Art Supply Warehouse in

Westminster, CA. The researcher also handed out fliers, to any artist that would

49

accept one, at various “artist walk” events around Southern California, such as

the Downtown Los Angeles ArtWalk, the Culver City “ArtWalk,” and the Long

Beach “ArtWalk.”

As a final method of distribution, the researcher set up a table outside of

Cal Poly’s Downtown Pomona Art Gallery to hand-distribute -- and manually

enter – surveys to any artist who attended the July 2009 Pomona Arts Colony

“ArtsWalk.”

The answers to the quantitative questions were input into Excel and

studied through normal descriptive statistics, and then the qualitative questions

were coded and then studied in a quantitative way or are quoted as statements in

this study’s findings. Many of the coded categories are informed by Bain’s earlier

study (Bain, 2003).

50

FINDINGS

AMERICAN ARTIST MIGRATION AND CLUSTERING

The first findings to report are gathered from the Oxford Dictionary of

American Art and Artists (2008) which will hereafter be mentioned as the “Oxford

Dictionary.” This study comprised notable artists throughout of all of American

history -- a history which was admittedly concentrated for a period on the East

Coast during this timeframe. However, there were less people and thus, fewer

artists during the timeframes as well.

There is also a chance that Oxford Dictionary may be biased, and indeed

does appear “New York”-centric in the included bios. Not surprisingly, New York

City and its state came in first place by a large margin in all categories of the

statistics. However, the art world of the United States has been concentrated for

some time in New York, much as the entertainment industry appears to be

concentrated in Los Angeles.

This slice of the study is about the locations and clustering of artists in the

US. The variables gathered were the artist’s “place of birth,” the artist’s “college,”

and the artist’s “creative cities” as an adult, and the artist’s “place of death.” Most

of the artists lived in more than one city, and some may have lived in the US for

only a short portion of their lives -- but they did live here at one time or another in

their life’s travels. Some of these of these “American” artists only were born

here, and some were born elsewhere then moved here.

51

It can be said that common sense could presuppose many of these

findings, but this study did unearth enlightening results that made this exercise

useful. For example, these statistics seem to develop as a cautionary warning or

a bugle call to those city officials who plan to “plant” an artist colony in certain

areas of the country.

Please note that some of the figures are rounded as appropriate, but can

be found, in their entirety, in the appendix to this thesis.

ARTIST’S “BIRTHPLACE”

This variable, gathered from the Oxford Dictionary, would be a purely

random selection of home cities from the entire United States in a perfect world.

The growth of the US over history shows that migration can account for a few of

the following skewed statistics in part, but other factors are clearly at work here

as well -- one of which may be a bias of the Oxford Dictionary editor, as

mentioned earlier. Therefore it is suggested that further study of this subject

should be also performed using other “art dictionary” references as well.

The number of birthplace cities that could be gathered from the Oxford

Dictionary (Morgan, 2008) was 1150 in 593 different US and foreign cities.

52

The top nineteen cities, shown in the chart, account for 36% of the total.

As revealed, New York City is by far the locale with the largest number of these

noteworthy artists born in the city, having 127 artists. This number is eleven

percent of the total artists counted. The mode was one artist per city, which

equaled the median at one artist per city. The mean is 1.93 which skews the

statistics a small amount to the right.

Philadelphia and Boston emerge in second and third places with 63 and

44 artists, correspondingly. These top three cities account for 20 percent of the

total. If the surrounding cities of these three cities were added to the numbers it

would be an even larger percentage of the whole. Other remarkable statistics

were the presence of Berlin, London, and Paris in the chart of cities having six of

53

more artists born there with the number of artists being seven, eleven, and ten

artists, respectively. To pursue this model further, the number of artists for each

state, as well as those who number as foreign born, was the next area of interest.

The above chart reveals another attention-grabbing statistic. 278 of the

1150 artists from the Oxford Dictionary (Morgan, 2008) were foreign-born, which

is 24% of the total. Much the same as shown in the earlier figures, New York,

Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts find their way to the top states with 231, 108,

and 106 entries, in order. These top four locations -- one of which is foreign-born

artists -- account for 63 percent of the total artists.

Alaska, Arkansas, Nevada, and South Dakota find themselves without a

single representative of these notable artists born in their state. The mean of

22.5 was right of the median, with six, which skews these statistics to the right.

54

The mode was “five” for this list of the fifty states and those artists who were

foreign born.

ARTIST’S “COLLEGE”

Quite a number of colleges appeared in the Oxford Dictionary (Morgan,

2008). Some of the colleges were only temporary places of learning for a

particular artist, and others were the institution where the artists earned a degree,

whether it is an art degree or some other type of degree.

55

There are 1,241 separate entries in the Oxford Dictionary of college

attendances for these notable American Artists. These entries were associated

with 328 separate institutions across the United States and elsewhere. It is not

noted in the dictionary whether the artist graduated from the school, but only that

they attended there. It is interesting to note the inclusion of two Paris colleges in

the above list of those twenty schools who had ten or more artists in attendance;

the Academie Julian with 35 students and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts with 31.

Once again New York City rises to the top with the greatest number of

students going to the Art Students League having 138 students. More New York

environ schools appear with the City College of New York (14 students),

Columbia University (42), Cooper Union (25), National Academy of Design (89),

the New School in New York (10), New York University (21), Parsons, the New

School for Design (10), and the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn (13). These New York

schools account for 362 of the entries, and 29% of the total entries. Many other

New York area colleges had a few of these notable students as well.

Near to New York, Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts

comes in third on the list with 67 students who went on to become notable artists.

The Northeastern US, in general, is a clear destination of higher learning for

these artists. The Art Institute of Chicago has 45 of the entries, as would be

expected from this esteemed art school. Harvard and Yale arrive in the list

showing a sizable 38 and 28 students, respectively. The State of California has

three colleges on the list with California College of the Arts in Oakland having

eleven students, San Francisco Art Institute having ten, and the University of

56

California in Berkeley showing fourteen students in total. The most heartening

statistics on the list, which pulls these top twenty colleges out of the stereotypical,

are the University of Iowa with 10 students and the Cleveland Institute of Art, with

another 10.

These top twenty schools account for 53% of the entire entries. The mean

for the entire list was 3.77, and the median was one, which equals the mode at

one. These numbers skew the statistics to the right. From the mere entering of

these notations on Excel it is clear that these notable American Artists are a

highly-educated group of individuals.

ARTIST’S “CREATIVE CITIES”

In total there were 3,263 entries of cities or general areas that the artists

lived and worked in as adults, as gathered from the Oxford Dictionary (Morgan,

2008). The chart below shows those locations with fifteen or more entries

attributed to their particular city.

57

The entire field correlates to a list of 787 different cities across the world.

The mean for this total set of data was 4.03 with the median and mode both

being one, thus skewing the statistics to the right. The top 23 are shown in the

chart above with New York and surprisingly, Paris, in the first and second

positions. New York far outweighs other cities with 670 instances of these

notable artists living there at some point in their adulthood which accounts for

20% of the entries. Paris has 290 entries, at 9% of the total, which appears to

show that a large amount of these artists make some kind of longer-term

pilgrimage to this city at some point as an adult in the artistic field.

Note that ten of these top 23 places are foreign locations, Rome having 61

entries alone, although a few are regions that include other possible cities

58

already noted elsewhere in the chart (In the next chart, the foreign locations are

lumped together as a whole).

Boston and Philadelphia are the only other cities with entries that pass the

century mark, with 117 and 111 entries respectively. Some of these figures are

accounted for by the early US history that took place in these towns, but there

were also a smaller amount of artists around, to be accounted for, during this

time period as well. It may be a useful task for future research into this topic to

separate the artists born earlier than the turn of the last century into a separate

grouping to see what the actual current trends of the last century have been.

Most of these top locations are large cities which can account for higher

numbers, but some towns are glaring outliers to this thought, such as

Woodstock, New York with its 23 entries. Woodstock is a town where an artist

colony of sorts has existed for a number of years partly through the founding of

the Byrdcliffe Artist Colony planted there in 1902 (Woodstock Chamber of

Commerce & Arts, 2009). And another is Provincetown, Massachusetts with its

25 entries. Provincetown’s Tourism Office proclaims this town as the “...nation’s

oldest artist colony” having started in 1899 (Provincetown Tourism Office and

Visitor Services Board, 2009). In the appendix to this thesis, from the list of

locations, it may be seen that many artists have lived in Artist Colony-type towns,

such as Cornish, New Hampshire and its colony, with 10 notable artists. This

town’s colony of artists began by those following the sculptor, Augustus Saint-

Gaudins, to the city to escape the summer temperatures of New York City

(Cornish, New Hampshire, 2009).

59

For the state chart, the entries are once again broken down by state, with

foreign cities lumped together as one. The states with ten or more entries are

shown in the chart above. The total number entries were 3,263 in the fifty United

States, and other foreign locations. New York, as a state, arrives in the top

position again with 969 entries, but only by a small margin. Foreign cities, when

lumped together, are the second most lived-in location with 965 entries. New

York State accounts for 30% of the total entries, with foreign entries possessing

30% as well, and together they account for 59% of the total entries.

Sadly, it is found that Mississippi, North Dakota, and Arkansas had none

of these noted artists who have lived in the state during their creative life.

Alabama, Alaska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming only had one artist

60

each. Kansas, North Carolina, Nebraska, and Nevada had only two each. This

may mean that the notoriety of artists in these states does not extend further than

the state line but, looking at the numbers, it appears that these states may not

possess the elements needed to draw artists.

California (182 entries), Connecticut (104), Massachusetts (258), and

Pennsylvania (159) all have over 100 entries each. A surprising note is that the

City of Washington, DC, being its own state-like town has 60 entries, which rises

just above Illinois and New Jersey, with 57 and 54 entries, respectively. The

mean was 62.77, with the median being nine, the mode as one, with the statistics

skewing to the right.

61

ARTISTS “PLACE OF DEATH”

The editor of the Oxford Dictionary, Ann Lee Morgan, says that those

towns that are listed as “permanent residence” may be assumed to be the place

of death (Morgan, 2008, p. Intro).

There were 851 entries of towns mentioned where these notable artists

died or permanently resided. The mean was 2.35, and the statistics skew to the

right with the median, as well as mode, at one. By a very wide margin, and

placing it in first, 207 of these entries were for New York City. This figure for the

city is 24% of the total number. Tied for second were Boston and Paris, having

62

23 mentions, each. The last two double-digit numbers were for the cities of

London, Philadelphia, Rome, and Washington DC with 14, 22, 11 and 18,

respectively. The rest of the cities listed in the chart above fall within the range of

five to nine entries each.

Interestingly, of these twenty two cities shown above, the category for

those who died “at sea” materializes with five entries, as well as five for Nyack,

NY -- the home of the famous artist “Edward Hopper” shows with five as well.

Once again, the Artist Colony town of Woodstock, NY (6 entries) appears as

does Bronxville, NY (6) that had an illustrious Artist Colony called the “Lawrence

Park Artists Colony that was formed around the turn of the last century (Village of

Bronxville, NY, 2009).” Santa Fe, NM with its five entries is well known for its

artists -- Georgia O’Keefe for one -- as well as its art galleries. What is surprising

are the mid-range numbers in other large American cities, such as Los Angeles

(7) and Chicago (5). Cincinnati, a city that figured more prominently in other

statistics, had only one entry. Not surprisingly, when looking across the entirety

of these towns where the notable artists died, it appears that artists tend to live in

smaller towns around retirement age.

63

The figures for the state are interesting as well. New York State

climbs far above the top states, again, with 338 of the total entries -- 40% of the

847 numbers. Foreign cities and the State of Massachusetts come in at second

and third with 108 and 84 entries. California, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania

boast 47, 49, and 39 each. Eleven of the total states had no notable artists that

died in their state – Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi,

Nevada, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Utah. And twelve other

states had only one entry to their name. The mean was 6.8, and the median was

one, with the mode being .49. These statistics skew to the right.

64

ANOVA

For a final look at this subject the ANOVA test is performed on the three

sets of entries for the 50 states and foreign locations (combined). To reiterate,

the first group was the number of notable artists in each state at birth, the second

was the number in each state during the adult period of the artist’s lives, and the

third group was place of death. The hypothesis for this test is to determine if

there is a statistically significant difference in the number of artists who lived in

each state throughout different the periods of life. The null hypothesis posits that

there is no significant difference between the number of artists who lived in each

state during the periods of birth, adulthood, and at death.

Once performed, the P-value of the test displays .089, with an F-critical of

3. 055 and the F is 2.453. Finding the F inside the F-critical the ANOVA test fails

to reject the null hypothesis.

This finding seems to say that artists are not necessarily migrating, or not

migrating, from one area to another. Many of these artists have stayed in one

location for their whole lives, and it may be that this area works harder to support

artists from birth to death.

65

SURVEY RESULTS FOR “THE ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL ARTIST

COLONY”

The results of the survey are remarkable. 206 artists from across the

country and from other nations became enthusiastic subjects, giving excellent

insight to the subject of artist colonies, through the process of answering the 22

questions. The first few questions are demographic in nature.

For Question number one, 75 of the respondents are male, 128 are

female, and three decline to state their sex. This correlates to 63.1% females

and 36.9% males who participated.

Please note: for the remainder of this discussion, figures such as these

will be rounded as appropriate, and do not necessarily add up to a perfect 100%

figure, but are within an acceptable range (1% more or less than 100%).

66

For question number two it is found that 76% were “Caucasian, non-

Hispanic (155 artists),” 8% are of “two or more races (16),” 7% are “Hispanic

(15),” 3% are “Black (7),” 2.5% are “Native American (5),” and another 2.5% are

“some other race (5),” .5% are “Asian(1),” none of the respondents are Hawaiian

67

or Pacific Islander,” and two of the artists decline to answer this question.

Question number three asks “What state or country do you live in?”

The survey received responses from 205 artists in all but 19 of the United States

– one artist declines to state his or her state. At the top, California has the most

responses with 74 artists, Illinois provides 22, Connecticut has 13, and TX had

nine. Californians account for 36% of the respondents, and Illinois produced

11% of the answers. There are respondents from 7 foreign artists in Canada,

England, Israel, and surprisingly even New Caledonia.

68

When asked what the respondent’s art medium is, 168 artists answer and

38 skip the question. Many of the artists participate in more than one art

medium, and therefore there are more individual numbers -- in all of the art

mediums combined -- than the number of respondents to the survey. There are

419 responses in 22 categories. The responses are then coded to simplify the

answer categories. For instance, “Puppetry” is placed in the “Performance”

category, “Watercolor” is labeled as “Painting,” and “Animation” is placed in

“Media” category.

As can be seen in the chart the top three categories are “Painting” with

113 respondents who paint, “Design” with 50 respondents, and “Sculpting” shows

46 sculptors among the group. The “Painting” category is 27% of the total,

“Design” is 12% (with 50 Respondents), and “Sculpting” just behind at 11% (46).

“Writing” (with 40 respondents), “Performance” (27), Media (23), and

69

Photography (21) are the next largest. The smallest categories show as

“Mosaic” with only one respondent, and “Organizing” (admittedly an odd

response) with one.

205 of the respondents answer question number five, “Do you have a

degree in art?” and only one artist declined to answer. 42% (87 respondents)

note that they have no degree in art, 37% (75) have a bachelor’s degree in art,

19% (38) earned a Master’s Degree in art, 2% (4) have a Certificate in art,

and .5% (1) posses a Doctorate degree in art. Respondents could only check

one box, and it is assumed that this box is their highest level of professional

education attainment in art.

70

Question number six asks the question, “Do you make a living with your

art medium?” 171 respondents answer the question, and 35 skipped the

question. The possible answers are “Yes,” “No,” and “Other.” “Other” answers

are then given space for explanation and coded to make a determination of

“Sometimes,” or “Part Time.” Those who are teachers in the field are coded as

“Yes,” and students in the field are coded as “No.”

46% of the respondents clearly say “Yes” (78 respondents), 54% respond

“No” (93), The “Other” category seemed to be an apparent overlap answer in the

minds of the respondents, since it receives 61 answers, so it is addressed

separately. After coding of the “Other” answers, it is found that 23 artists say

“Part-time,” 18 answer “Yes,” 13 say “Sometimes,” and seven artists say “No.”

Some of the artists just filled in the comment line without checking a response

and were counted as skipped. Due to the overlap and confusion of these

answers, this question could be informational only, so the surveys were looked

through one at a time and hand-counted.

71

The hand count finds that 202 artists actually answer this question. 90

(45%) code as “Yes,” 77 (38%) say “No,” 22 (11%) say “Part-time,” and 13 (6%)

are coded as “Sometimes.” The chart below shows these actual more accurate

answers after the hand count.

ART COLONIST QUESTIONS

The seventh question is, “Do you currently (or have in the past) live, or

work, in an artist colony/district?” If the answer is “No” the respondent is asked

to skip to question sixteen. Of the 202 individuals that answer, eight

respondents, or 4%, note that they live(d) in an artist colony. Twenty artists, or

10% say they live(d) and work(ed) in an artist colony, 14%, which corresponds

to 29 respondents, say they only work(ed) in a colony, and 72%, which translates

to 145 artists, that say they do not, or have not, live(d) or work(ed) in an artist

colony. Four participants skip the question. This result indicates that 28% (57)

72

of the participants in the survey have artist colony/district experience, and could

answer the next few questions.

Those with artist colony experience are next asked to answer question

number eight, “What is/was the name of your artist colony/district?” 55 of the

artists answer the question. Some of the artists comment by naming more than

one colony/district. The answers show the variety of opinions around the

definition of artist colony/district. The answers range from unofficial artist

colonies -- but are boroughs widely known as an artist residential area -- and

some are buildings where artists only work and not reside. To understand, and

find a way of explaining these different types of colonies/districts, for this study,

the answers are coded to pull the answers into a descriptive form based on

“types of colony.”

73

Sixty-one artist colonies/districts are named by these artists, and these are

broken down into six categories. These categories become surprisingly clear

after a study of the history for each colony on its website. The ability to place

these different artist colony/district situations into these seven categories is a

simple way that can be an easily adopted as a way planners can define types of

artist communities in future reference. Nevertheless, the categories are

explained by this study in the following list:

1. Artist Neighborhood – A city neighborhood known for its artists.

2. Artist Residency – An artist colony where the artists pay to stay

for a period of time.

3. Artist Colony – An organic grouping of artists, that is artist-

generated.

4. Arts District – An artist colony/district that is created through a

partnership of artists and developers or a government entity.

5. Art Center – A building or place where artists can gather to use

work space or take art classes.

6. Artist Guild – A group of artists who band together to

promote/market their art.

7. Artist City – A city known for its artists (i.e. Santa Fe, New Mexico)

Twenty-six of these fifty-seven artists who say they live(d) in artist

colonies/districts, live(d) in what this study calls an “artist colony”, thirteen lived in

an “arts district,” nine lived in “artist residencies,” five lived in “artist

neighborhoods,” three each lived in an “artist city” or worked in an “artist center,”

74

and two were members of an “artist guild.” Two of the artists lived in a

community that cannot be defined. These numbers are, in all probability, based

on those groups contacted for this survey, so therefore it can be used as a filter

through which the rest of this section of questions can be seen.

Question nine is, “Do you (or did you) have any kind of

contract/agreement with your artist colony/district?” 75% of the artists who had

association with an artist colony/district say they had no agreement, 25% say

they did have an agreement, and seventeen of those who say “yes” explained

what they mean by having an agreement. There were nineteen answers from

these 17 artists that can be coded into eight categories. These categories are

explained below:

1. Participation – Two (2) of the respondents mention an understanding

of the need to participate with their Colony. One of the artists explains

that it was a membership commitment.

75

2. Civic Duty – One (1) of the artists mentions that he/she does “pay

taxes and obey the law.”

3. Consignment – Two (2) respondents say that they had an

understanding of receiving a percentage of revenue. One calls it a

“consignment contract.” It may be assumed that these consignments

are with a colony gallery.

4. Mutual Gallery – Two (2) artists mention a description that fit this

category. One artist explains that they “agreed to have a show with 3

other artists/teachers.”

5. Rental Agreement – Four (4) of the survey participants had a rental

agreement with their colony. One of them says they had a “tenant

agreement,” another mentions that they had a one-year-lease.”

6. Association Dues – Two (2) respondents paid some kind of

association dues to their colony.

7. Grants – One (1) artist says they had applied for grants with their

colony.

8. Membership Contract – Five (5) of the respondents say they had

some sort of a membership contract. One respondent says they had

“membership rules,” another explains that they had membership

“duties.”

The next question is where the meatier questions of this survey study

begin. Question number ten (10) asks, “Name the most important attribute of

your colony/district that encouraged you to move there.” Fifty-four art colonists

76

answered this question with 67 comments. These answers are coded into 20

categories without difficulty.

By far, the top category is “Community of Artists,” having eighteen

answers. One of the participants said they liked the “Potential for artist

community and aesthetic growth.” The “Cheap Rent” category fell in second

place with eight who mentioned this, and seven artists cite “Space” to work as an

element. These two answers are summed up in one of the artist’s comment:

“Large space, cheap rent and other artists in area.” “Inspirational Environment”

and “Networking” came in next with six comments each. These are

encapsulated by statements such as, “Access to scholars and artists.” And,

“Being surrounded by creativity to inspire and nurture mine.”

“Recognition by others,” “Tolerance,” “Safety,” and “Low Housing Cost”

were mentioned less frequently with four, three, two, and two answers,

respectively. “Low Housing Cost” concerned purchase prices of living spaces.

All of the remaining answers had one comment each. In an advisory message to

planners, one artist declares, “The city gave me $10,000 toward the down

payment on a house. I thought it was going to be a real artist place. Boy, was I

wrong.” Another colonist has an interesting statement in mentioning, “Originally

we were a cooperative and the idea of living and working with other artists

sounded great. Also, affordable housing was a big plus.”

The rest of the categories appear in the chart below.

77

Fifty-two colony artists answered question eleven, “What is the most

important attribute of your current artist colony/district that a city government

could provide to other artist colonies?” It is strange to see how different these

next answers are from the last given. It was assumed that these answers could

be coded into the same categories as in the last question, but they bear little

resemblance to the answers from question ten, although some are saying the

same thing in a different manner. For instance, “Recognition by Others” seems

like a good fit with Marketing.”

The seventy-six entries of comments from the artists were coded to 32

categories. Those comments that were noted by two or more artists are shown

78

in the chart below.

Monetary assistance is commented on by eleven artists, in comments

such as, “Funding and support from city government (also in continued respect

category),” and “FUNDING! More affordable housing, and more opportunities to

display out art publicly.” Some of these comments fit into more than one

category. “Marketing/Publicity” is in second place with ten comments. These

colonists said, “economic expansion and opportunities. Artwalks brought

customers,” and “Publicity through agencies such as the city tourist/convention

bureau.”

Tied for third place are “Cheap Rent” and “Continued Respect” with six

answers each. The “continued respect” category comments are those that

concern attitude of the government toward the artist community. In these

79

categories the respondents said, “CONTINUITY OF ADMINISTRATION (NOT

PROVIDED BY CITY IN THIS CASE) (Caps by respondent),” and “historical

landmark status/inclusion in the cultural affairs department/protected status/403b

non-taxable status.”

“Lower Housing Cost” has five comments, such as, “keep it affordable,”

and “Studio and Gallery Space at reduced rates.” This is a category, along with

“Cheap Rent,” admittedly, could be requested by people in many occupations.

“Aesthetic Infrastructure,” “Grants,” and Tax Incentives had three comments

each, like, “nonprofit status and tax breaks.” “Art Center,” “Neighborhood

Organization,” “Space,” “Support without Strings,” and, “No involvement” had two

comments a piece. One of these artists said, humorously, “Getting cities

involved in artists districts is pure BS.” Also, “City Gov't could provide monetary

assistance and then take a HUGE step back. Hands off. A House run by the

artists for the artists, with absolutely no outside interference,” and, “Street

beautification and marketing of the district” -- the last comment being an example

of “Aesthetic Beauty.”

Another interesting comment related, “protection against real estate

developers driving up the rents/property values in the arts areas and then

promoting the area as an arts area when artists can no longer afford spaces.” It

is surprising how many of these questions harmonized with the thoughts of the

literature review. The final categories had one comment each. One comment

said, with grammar difficulty, but sincerity, “spaces to sharing and learn about

other artists.”

80

Question number twelve, gave the colonist-respondents the opportunity to

add personal favorite elements with the query, “What element would you (do you)

miss the most if you left this colony/district?” Fifty-three artists give comments in

a surprisingly more candid manner than in the last question. Much like Maslow’s

Hierarchy, basic needs were related in the first question, and then self-

actualization comments begin to appear in the next. Only nineteen categories for

the comments to fit within materialize out of the 76 entries. See the outcome in

the chart below:

81

45% of the comments – or 34 entries – concerning the elements, fell into

the “Community of Artists” category. It is amazing how much of the wording

concerning this element was stated in a unison-type fashion, by using the word

“community” in the answer. It could be guessed that a survey of the public at

large would show that what most persons want in their lives is “community.” One

artist mentioned this in an interesting way. They said they would miss, “The

communal feel of it. It is very la vie bohiem.” Another said, “combined energy of

being around other artists,” and one more said, “feeling legitimate by being with

other artists.”

The category “Inspiration” was next with 14% -- or eleven entries – of the

total. One respondent called it “artist energy,” and another called it, “...the

exchange of ideas.” These top two categories accounted for 59% of the entries.

“Lower Housing Cost,” “Networking,” and “Space” had four answers each,

with comments such as, “cheap mortgage, only $250 a month,” “community and

interaction with other artists, networking,” and “Large, cheap living space.”

“Education” had three entries with comments like, “the exchanging of ideals with

each other.” All the other categories had one entry each. Some highlights were,

“A tranquil space, my studio,” “Sharing my art to the community at large,” and

“Fremont used to be funky and real. Now it's like Universal Citywalk.”

Question thirteen asks, “What is missing from your artist colony/district

that you feel the city government should provide?” This is one more -- seemingly

repetitive -- question aimed at getting more elements from the art colonists. This

question asks to think of government/planner-type help for an existing colony.

82

There are fifty-three answers coded in 23 categories shown in the chart below.

The top answer this time was “Monetary Assistance,” with nine entries.

“during these difficult economic times, the arts are grossly underfunded, and

generally the public seems less interested in the arts,” one respondent says.

“Nothing” and the “Marketing/Publicity” and the categories are next with eight and

seven answers, respectively. One of the respondents harshly states, “Artists

that go clamoring to city government for handouts and special treatments are

artists that are gonna make crap.” The next largest sum of entries was for

“Gallery Space” with six answers and “Cheap Rent” with five. A respondent

answers, covering many bases, “More concern to maintain low rent live/work

lofts, pedestrian and bike friendly streets, trees. Another says, in a plea for

83

gallery space, “more funding $$$ to produce public gallery shows, and more.”

“Community Involvement,” Continued Respect,” and “Lower Housing Cost” all

have four answers each. A colonist says, “Opportunity for ARTISTS to buy

studio space at affordable rates.” “Tax Breaks” and “Aesthetic Infrastructure”

have three entries each, and the rest have two or less answers. An interesting

new category, with two entries, was “Bike Lanes.”

GENTRIFICATION AND ARTIST COLONIES

Gentrification is the subject of the next two questions. To open this

subject, number fourteen asks those who have personal artist colony experience

to grapple with the problem by stating, “Gentrification is often a by-product of

artist colonies. City governments have planted artist colonies to redevelop a

blighted community. Do you feel that your artist colony/district is gentrifying the

neighborhood?” Fifty-six respondents answered the question as shown in the pie

chart below.

84

39% (22 respondents) of the artist reply “Yes” and 27% (15) answer “No.”

If the “It did” numbers (2) are added to the “Yes” category, 43% of the

respondents are fairly sure that gentrification is a by-product of their artist colony.

Adding the “It will not” to the “No” category, 31% of the artists feel the opposite is

true. The “Not yet” answers are 16% (9) of the answers, which when added to

the affirmative categories tell us that 59% believe that there are, or could be,

signs of gentrification, happening in their colony.

11% (6) say “I don’t know,” which could mean any number of things – one

of which is that they do not know what “gentrification” -- the concept or the word,

means. It is important to remember that some of the respondents that say “No”

live(d) in communities that will not be subject to gentrification, such as a rural

artist colony residency.

Twelve of the artists have comments to make, such as, “that was the plan.

Too many "investors" who don't live in the area have bought property and they

85

are the ones that keep it a ghetto.” Another said, “Gentrification is often mis-

understood, it is a catch phrase that has little to do with what is actually

happening in any given community.” On a positive note, one artist says, “Oak

Park has several non-profits with a diversity mission - the building I live in is

actually one of those non- profits. The village in general is committed to diversity

as a result and it's now a major reason why people choose to live there.”

Question fifteen attempts to expand in understanding the respondents’

thoughts on gentrification. It asks, “Do you have any opinion you would like to

say about the possibility of gentrification caused by an artist colony?” An

unexpected 38 respondents answered the query with a comment. These

comments are coded as “OK” (gentrification happens as a normal process), “Not

OK” (negative feelings about gentrification), “Middle” (see positive and negative

effects), “No Opinion” (no clear opinion).

“OK,” “Middle,” and “Not OK” were close to tied. One less said a comment

that coded “OK” than “Middle” and “Not OK,” so it is difficult to judge this answer

86

in any direction. However, the artists do have important insight to the subject.

On respondent coded as “Middle” says, “I am fine with all races and lifestyles, but

I am not fine with absentee landlords who rent to scumbags. We need more

owner residents, artist or not. Owners take care of properties when they live in

them, or at least more of them would than borderline transients who occupy the

rentals where I am.” Two others -- coded as “Not Okay” and “Middle” -- say, “It

displaces those very elements that induces raw art forms...and replaced by

boutique art or earrings to represent Fine Arts,” as well as “It's inevitable--Artists

transform the base into the precious and then the landlords raise the rents and

force the artists out.” One coded as “OK” mentions, “It works. The problem is

knowing which area to move into to restart the cycle.” This question had many

interesting answers.

ALL ARTISTS AND FUTURE COLONIES

“Would you live in an artist colony/district, if you currently do not?” This is

the question of number sixteen, and the last few queries return to opinions from

87

the entire respondent group. 197 artists answered this question, for example.

38% (74 respondents) affirmed the idea of living in an artist colony with

“Yes” as their reply. 16% (31 respondents) thought “No,” 38% (74) say “Maybe,”

and 9% (18) responded with “I live(d) in an artist colony/district.” This means that

a striking 84% are open to the idea of living in an artist colony/district.

This leads to the next question, number seventeen, “If you do not live in

an artist colony/district, what is the most important element that a city

government could provide to encourage you to move to one?” 163 of the

respondents answered this question, and 43 skipped it. There were 232

separate elements mentioned. See the chart below for those elements with 3 or

88

more comments.

The top answer is “Cheap Rent” with 28 comments or 12% of all the

responses. The words, “Cheap Rent” are echoed many times. “Lower Housing

Costs” comes in second with comments such as, “Inexpensive living and studio

space with exhibition space.” It has 24 responses, with 10% of the total

responses. Third place, with 22 comments and 9% of the total, is “Tax Breaks,”

which is surprising coming from a profession often perceived as having a “liberal”

political bent.

Fascinatingly, the category “Nothing” arrives in fourth with 20 comments.

One of the artists amusingly states, “Oh hell no... Not making this mistake again,”

and another says, “I would never ever move to a place that was established to

attract artists. I could only imagine the weakest, least creative types would want

to be in such a place. Art happens, it doesn't need an incubator” (spelling

89

corrected). To the contrary, “Monetary Assistance” is next in line with seventeen

answers or 7%. The comments were fairly straightforward on this request.

Safety and Space have twelve comments each that are exemplified in two

comments. For example, “These tend to be low rent marginal areas so safety is

a big concern,” and as for “Space” it is said, “Open large, high ceiling work/live

studio spaces & sculpture.” Gallery Space, with 9 responses, Marketing/Publicity

(8), and Low Cost of Living (6), appear next with this type of comment:

“Camaraderie, inexpensive housing, regular art walk or studio tour.”

Some other thoughtful messages from other categories are, “a

government that has a sense of humor and openness, gardens,” “City Codes to

accommodate things like welding/spraying/noise,” “tax credit or living expense

credit,” “The other artists are more important than anything a government could

provide,” and “An acceptable place for my children to live with me.”

Question 18 reflects the question to artist colonist earlier (number eight)

when it asks, “If there is an(other) artist colony/district you would like to live in,

what is its name?” Seventy-two answered the question and 134 skipped to the

next query. Only 54 of the colony-type locations had meaning and a few are just

city names that can be categorized as Artist City -- as defined by the earlier

categories from question eight. Thirty-five, or 65%, of the places mentioned are

these named cities -- which can mean that many artists are not quite sure of a

definition for “Artist Colony/District.” Out of the other answers, a traditional “Artist

Colony” won out with just seven mentions, but just barely over “Artist Districts”

with six. It is difficult to make any sort of judgment from the answers given to this

90

question. Here’s the chart:

“What else you would you like to see -- as a city government incentive -- in

an artist colony?” Was question number nineteen. 135 answered the question

and 71 skipped it. At this point in the survey the respondents have had multiple

opportunities to list elements. They will now have thought of secondary choices

of elements, which give an idea of what elements rise to the top in the case of

needs for the artists. And, with this question, they have many more opinions

than before. One artist, who feels that his/her colony does not live up to its

potential, says:

“I want to see a commitment to serious artists. I live with a

bunch of dabblers who retired from the rust belt and decided in their

golden years they'd glue googly eyes on rocks and call it art. Okay,

91

not that bad, but amateurs who dabble, not serious artists. I moved

from California where I had an art career and was showing in

galleries and this is so rinky-dink and worthless. I don't feel like I

have a peer group here, it is a bunch of old biddies who think that is

what being an artist is all about. The city also needs to get rid of

absentee landlords who buy into these areas and rent to scumbags

while they wait for the artists to make their derelict property more

valuable. I live next to a duplex with a revolving door of drug

abuse, drug dealing, prostitution, domestic abuse, loud violent

drunken brawls, a shooting, public urination, animal abuse, etc. I

have no quality of life and the landlord pulls up in his Cadillac

Escalade once a month to collect their rent in cash. He wouldn't

live next to the people he inflicts on me.”

The top answer to this question is “Marketing/Publicity” with 24 artists

noting this element among the 209 choices that were noted in 54 categories.

This is noted in 12% of the element choices given. One artist mentions,

“Planned events and open houses as a part of a city-wide movement,” and

another says, “marketing of the location, a City-funded gallery space, City

sponsored events such as walking tours, open studios, etc.” “Gallery Space” and

“Tax Breaks’ are next with 18 (9%) and 16 (8%) mentions each. “Connections

with city galleries and educational institutions that make art more visible and

accessible to the public and young people,” said one artist, and concerning tax

92

breaks another says, “Tax incentives to attract other artists to the region.”

Please see the top nineteen in the chart below:

“Continued Respect” has eleven responses, like this one from a

respondent:

“More promotion and appreciation for their existence. Many

cities hide the art areas and label them as "lazy hippie areas" and

they don't value what hard work is actually taking place within that

area. also, they like to come in and put starbucks up with high price

apartment buildings then all the yuppies move in because they

think it's "hip and trendy and cool" to live in the area without caring

about the people who have made it that way.”

“Monetary Assistance” and “Nothing” have ten comments each. One

respondent asked for, “Funding & support based on portfolio and ability not art

93

education” and another was categorized “Nothing” with, “I have experienced &

been a recipient of ‘government incentives’ in my work over the years... & have

also seen the game-playing, abuses & largess generally wasted on any sort of

artist’s collectives. I am opposed to any government involvement, no matter how

well intended.” However, another requests that, “Job opportunities are offered

within the city government, opportunities to expand or create government funded

art programs, government assisted health care program for people in the arts,

and make the housing affordable for people to live in.”

The next five in order of comments were “Low Housing Cost,” with 8

notes, “Not Sure” (8), “Cheap Rent” (7), “Security” (7), and “Space” also with

seven. One of the respondents notes, “I would like to see a city government that

would provide affordable studio space for artists at a fixed price. Most of the

time, an artist's community will attract galleries and cafes etc. and after the

community is flourishing, raise the rents and kick out the artists who were

responsible in helping the communities’ upgrade.” Another says, “subsidized

gallery space, promotion, exposure, as well as financial grants... anything to level

out the stress of financial risk.”

“Grants,” noted five times could also be in the “Monetary Assistance”

category. The rest of the categories had less than five comments

“Would you sign on to an agreement with an artist colony organization if

required?” is the question for number twenty. 192 answer, but 14 skip the

94

question. Here’s the chart that shows what they say:

26% (49 respondents) say “Yes,” 13% (24) pronounce “No,” and “62%

(119) hesitate to say “Yes” by answering with a “Maybe.” 40 of the respondents

have an opinion to espouse on the subject. These interesting comments are in

the appendix, but here are four of those comments:

“...but probably yes, if I didn't have to sign away my soul-

artists learn so much faster working together than alone.”

“I think if govt. is subsidizing, it’s OK to have contractual

obligations.”

I'm used to covenants, but I would have to appreciate the

"rules" before sign.”

95

“Probably not...don't want someone dictating how I live.”

192 respondents answer, and fourteen skip, question number twenty-one

(21), “If a city government starts an artist colony/district, does it owe anything to

the artists?” See the results in the chart below:

120 of the artists give an explanation to the answer they choose. There

were 159 separate subjects, within these statements, coded into 24 categories.

The categories are a rough estimation of what the respondent expects to see

from the government in exchange for an artist’s participation in an artist colony.

The artist respondents had many interesting thoughts. All of the 24 coded

96

categories for their statements are shown in the chart below:

By a wide margin, “Continued Support” with 37 of the statements finds the

top spot with 23% of the total (159). Continued support means various thoughts,

but for the most part it means that these artists do not want to see a government

that “drops the ball” while the artist colony does what it can to hold up its part of

the bargain. “Don't consider the artists "expendable" once they've moved in,

cleaned up the area, made it attractive to other businesses. In other words, keep

rents in check for the artists,” says one artist. Another explains, “I think it is

common decency to support people you live off of, of course this is not common

in capitalism.”

97

The second place went to “Security” -- with 21 statements -- for many of

the same reasons as the support idea. If an artist agrees to live in a colony,

he/she needs the government to see that they are not in fear of being -- for

instance -- priced out of the area. This could be said for any low income

residents of the possibly gentrifying neighborhood. Further, one response says,

“Before relocating I would probably want some assurance that the colony

wouldn't close down or radically change form soon.” One respondent put it

succinctly, “Well, what is it without the artists?” It is tough to argue with that clear

sort of logic.

Third place continues these previous thoughts with “Clear Expectations”

having eighteen of the statements. “It should be a relationship, one that requires

things of both the city and artists,” says an artist. And another says, “both the

artists and the gov(ernment) need to have a level of investment.” These three

ideas together account for 48% of the ideas espoused. This is a fairly clear

request of planners who would “plant” a colony. One of the artists said this, “If

the government is involved with the arts in any way--the first priority should be

the artists in every aspect.” It should be worthwhile future study to ponder where

this fear of government pulling its support from an artist colony comes from.

Marketing/Publicity and Continued Monetary assistance are next with

sixteen and eleven comments each, correspondingly. One artist says it

succinctly, “I say yes, because if an artist colony district would come into a

community, it would be an attraction that would bring more people to the area

and more money spent in the area, so advertising help and tax deferred property

98

would help.” Another says, “Building a positive image and supporting

development which would assist the art community and which the art community

would assist.”

“Public Infrastructure” rounds out the double digit numbers with ten

comments on this subject. Public Infrastructure centers around the concept of

the government spending as much money on the upkeep of the colony

neighborhood as it does in the rest of a city. A respondent explains this well, by

saying, “All of the city/town services other residents have. A mix of businesses

so artists can have other jobs. Artists often cannot make a living on their art, but

NEED to be artists.”

The rest of the comment categories have less than ten thoughts attributed

to them. The respondents have many good comments such as this notable

thought from one of them: “It owes a stable and affordable rent structure. If it

banks on an art colony to help with gentrification then it has to keep the artists

there. If the artists are run out of the area due to costs, then it is an artist colony

in name only.”

ANY OTHER COMMENTS

There exists much fine input from the respondents throughout the survey.

83 of the artist-respondents had more to say at the end of the questions. They

range from appreciative thoughts on the study, to espousing possible negative

repercussions from planting an Artist Colony/District, to saying that government

99

should have no part in Artist Colonies/Districts, to thoughts on how they feel

disqualified to have thoughts on the subject. There are many well-thought-out

comments that I hope will be read in the appendix, but here are a handful of

interesting comments:

“Here are many areas of the city, not just the run down,

industrial arm pits of the city that can be utilized to create artists

colonies. These colonies could have a central teaching center

where schools from the community can bring their students for free,

yes free, art classes. In return, the artists who participate could

receive a stipend towards rent, art supplies or whatever it could be

a great way to keep the rats alive for our children and for the artists

to give back to their community.”

“Yes, but this short outline:

Improve artist appreciation to the larger community reassert

art education as a multi-cultural reality.

Promote cultural activities that advance humanistic goals.

Program [a] system to provide art administration jobs.

Insert major infrastructure objectives for the Arts.

City governments should make a commitment to artists and

understand how much revenue comes to areas when artists live in

them. A lot of money circulates around artists.”

100

“Artists cannot come into a deplorable situation and wave a

magic art wand to make it all better. Also, local governments do not

fully understand the value of the intense commitment that artists and

small arts organizations make to the places in which they live/work-

despite the precariousness of their finances/economic situations-

The business world does not understand this either- I think. Artists

will invest time and labor against all odds- why? because they want

to see/experience what it is they create- this work (in a studio or in a

neighborhood) will only exist if they make it exist

“Art lifts up a city culturally, yet the current environment takes

advantage of our efforts to build a community and areas to work.

The term 'artist loft' becomes a sales pitch for real estate and quality

workspace is gobbled up. Then we are searching again for space in

dangerous and cheap areas of the city.”

“I know I sound a little vexed but I lived in a great area for 5

years and suddenly, after the area started getting noticed for our

work, property taxes doubled in one year. My rent tripled. Artists

spend a major portion of their income on supplies and space

sacrificing a lot of creature comforts to pursue their goals. It may

take years to get a good body of work together and building a

career. Being forced to move is devastating to creative output not to

101

mention financial stability. There's a book called Rise of the Creative

Class that everyone should read in regards to the creative

community's contribution to a city...”

“Now that I live in an arts district and have experienced the

sense of community it brings and the teamwork of support, I doubt I

will ever live outside of one again.”

ALL OF THE ELEMENTS

For this section the coded answers for questions 10, 11, 12, 13, 17,

19, and 21 are compiled to see which elements rise to the top. Admittedly,

a few of the answers are possibly repeated in response to multiple

questions of some artists who did not desire to espouse any other

elements in comments to the multiple questions. However, that is only in

small incidence therefore it has only a minute effect on the answers. It

was assumed that the respondents would see each question as a

separate opportunity for thought on the subject. In the future it would be

worth noting to respondents -- in a survey such as this -- to give different

elements for each answer.

889 element notations are found throughout the previous questions.

These are coded into 72 different categories. A small, few of the elements

did not make sense in context to this study and were discarded for these

102

final categories. For the chart below, those top twenty elements are

shown. The categories in their entirety are found in the appendix.

Not surprisingly, as shown from the previous questions, many of the same

elements noted before rise to the top. The top element is monetary assistance with 71

(8% of the total) separate mentions. Second place and third place are

“marketing/publicity” and “Community of Artists” with 67 (8%) and 59 (7%) citations,

respectively. Here is a complete list of the top twenty with the corresponding numbers:

Aesthetic Infrastructure 12Cheap Rent 55Clear Expectations 20Community of Artists 59Continued Respect 26Continued Support 38Gallery Space 34Grants 15

103

Inspiration 18Low Housing Cost 47Marketing/Publicity 67Monetary Assistance 71Not Sure 13Nothing 52Political Involvement 13Public Infrastructure 13Safety 23Security 35Space 33Tax Breaks 45

These top twenty categories account for 689, or 78%, of the total answers

to the varied questions.

104

CONCLUSION

This thesis attempts to add more understanding to the planting of artist

colonies, and to a lesser extent, the gentrification often caused by those colonies.

Again, artists gathering places are often called “artist colonies” and have

increased in number from city planners using them as a remedy for blighted

neighborhoods. This can lead to “gentrification” -- a process where low income

residents are forced to move from a neighborhood due to increased housing and

living costs. Here are the research findings, in brief:

ARTIST MIGRATIONS

The findings regarding the places where notable artists live their lives, as

gathered from the Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists (2008), appears

to have been a useful exercise in locating fertile ground for artist colonies. This

subject can also be studied further by adding other reference sources and data to

gain a more complete understanding of the artist migration process. That said,

the findings are fairly unambiguous based on the useful conclusions gathered

from this one source alone. As stated in the findings, the data may show a New

York bias on the part of the Oxford Dictionary’s (Morgan, 2008) editor. However,

the conclusions are not unexpected based on stereotypical locations that famous

artists have been noted to migrate to or from. As well, many of these places are

port cities that are hubs for commerce.

105

New York clearly acts as an epicenter both of artistic living and of artistic

education, and also appears to encourage its own notable artists from birth.

Beyond that, the Northeast section of the United States, when taken under

consideration, appears to have been the artistic core of the nation, even to the

present era. This may change over the next few years when areas in the United

States, spreading west, have had more artistic history under their belt.

Many of the Northeastern areas -- like New York State -- are already

locals to home grown artist colonies, and look to be places where artist colonies,

when planted, have a reasonable chance of surviving. The fact that well-known

groups of artists have gathered in what could be colonies of sorts, in these

places, shows the importance of “community” in artistic expression. Some

106

Northeastern towns have grown, and are known, solely, on their identity as an

artistic community, such as Woodstock, New York.

Foreign Born artists, foreign locations, and foreign art colleges also figure

prominently. It may be possible that an artist who moves to the U.S. may have

already gained some prominence in their country or origin. But, it looks that,

even for American born artists, it is a benefit for an artist to make a pilgrimage to

artistic foreign cities, such as Paris or Rome. These settings look to be important

forces for nurturing artistic inspiration in an artist.

The result in finding that certain regions of the United States have not

been growth-producing locations for the artistic community, leads to the

conjecture that planting colonies in these areas would be, in the least, an uphill

battle. In future studies the population numbers from these locations should be

compared against the amount of notable artists in each area for more accurate

artist proportions.

In the findings, certain states did not appear in the various lists of

prominent artists’ living places: Mississippi, North Dakota, and Arkansas had no

artists born there; Alaska, Arkansas, Nevada, and South Dakota had no artists

that lived there during their adult lives; Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana,

Kansas, Mississippi, Nevada, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Utah

had no artists that died there. Arkansas, which appears on all three of the above

lists, looks either to be a place that would not be a good place to plant an artist

colony, or could arguably be a place that needs one desperately.

107

Also, “fine arts” figure prominently in the Oxford Dictionary – and, in

particular, painting. If a study of the media arts, for instance, were to be

undertaken it would not be surprising to find a much different result. As an

example, the area known as Hollywood, California (which is not a city) did not

appear in these results to any significance, although, artistically, it is typecast as

a prominent community with a high regard in “The Arts.” Also, a study could be

conducted to answer the questions, “What is the definition of the arts?,” “Are

crafts arts?,” or “Does the art need critical or commercial success to be

considered art?”

108

To put this all in story terms, a tale of the average American notable

artist’s life appears to be that they are born in the Northeast section of the United

States, and attend college in one of New York City’s art colleges, such as the Art

Student’s League. From there, they make a pilgrimage to Europe, and in

particular, Paris and Rome, and return to the U.S. to work in a New York City

Studio. Late in life they seem to make trips to smaller Northeastern towns

surrounding New York and New England, and then at the end of life, sometimes

retire or make summer trips to small-town New England -- but more often than

not -- stay in New York.

ARTIST SURVEY

109

The survey data collected by use of the website “Survey Monkey

(SurveyMonkey, 2009)” garnered an overwhelming amount of information on the

subject of artist colonies. In a future study of this kind it would be a good idea to

ask respondents to give short answers to the questions, however, the current

statements that were gathered are a treasure trove of data which other studies

could use in the future.

Possible confounds in this survey are perhaps biased answers led by the

wording used in the questions. Further, the researcher fashioned the categories

used for coding and may have shown bias that played out in the final elements.

As well, admittedly, there are some bad grammar examples that made it through

the editing process and in to the final, public survey.

It was a laborious process to get sufficient artists to answer the survey and

it could be said that there was an inability on behalf of the researcher to survey

random artists. For instance, a number of the artists are from the Pomona Arts

District since it was where the researcher set up a table and received a few

respondents in the process. However, in the final analysis, the representation of

artists appears to be from all parts of the country.

As for further confounds, the actual survey instrument should have had a

notice at the beginning to ask that the respondent be an adult over eighteen

years of age. However, no children, or children’s organizations, were contacted

with a request to complete the form. This was also the first time that this

110

researcher had completed a qualitative analysis and assumes, based on

ignorance that there may have been mistakes made through the process.

A substantial positive to this survey was the seemingly comprehensive

gathering of information through this process -- better than what may have come

from individual Interviews of those familiar with Artist Colony/District planting.

Individuals that are experts in the field may also have never done a survey to

counteract biases that they have in their own process of economic development

using colonies as a tool.

There are others who have given definition to the types of art colonies, but

through the process of coding the types of colonies, the definitions, used by the

researcher for the differing artist colony types, became exceptionally evident.

The various terms that emerged seem to be proper and simple ways to code the

types of colonies. These terms were defined in the “Findings” chapter, but are

reiterated here for recap:

1. Artist Neighborhood – A city neighborhood known for its artists.

2. Artist Residency – An artist colony where the artists pay to stay

for a period of time.

3. Artist Colony – An organic grouping of artists, that is artist-

generated.

4. Arts District – An artist colony/district that is created through a

partnership of artists and developers or a government entity.

111

5. Art Center – A building or place where artists can gather to use

work space or take art classes.

6. Artist Guild – A group of artists who band together to

promote/market their art.

The subject area of this research is the “elements of a successful artist

colony” and the survey was a successful tool in that these elements can indeed

be pronounced for this conclusion. For a clear understanding in this discussion,

it is believed by the researcher that the survey conclusions can be best

understood through a “top ten”-type list. Please note, that there were many other

elements discovered, and for the reader who desires to look beyond these top

ten, please delve into these elements in the appendix to this thesis or in the

findings chapter.

From a compilation of all of the element statements made by the artists,

these are the top ten elements that the respondents revealed that they would like

to see in an artist colony:

1. Monetary Assistance (71 total entries from respondents)

2. Marketing/Publicity (67)

3. Community of Artists (59)

4. Cheap rent (55)

5. Low Housing Cost (47)

6. Tax Breaks (45)

112

7. Continued Support (38)

8. Security (35)

9. Gallery Space (34)

10.Space (33)

The category of “Nothing” could be placed on this list, at position number

five, having 52 entries, but is not shown since this study concerns the elements

of a successful artist Colony that can be actually be “provided” for growth. While

doing “nothing” can be a necessary element, it can only be a thought in the back

of the mind for an artist colony “planter” -- and however important it may be, it is

only a useful concept to be applied once a purposeful planting process has

begun. Perhaps doing “nothing” may be a good way for a colony to

spontaneously grow, but this study is about seeking a hands-on process, if that is

a possible accomplishment.

The explanation of the meanings for these categories will be useful in

understanding their application in future scenarios. To begin, “Monetary

Assistance” is an expected element. It might be assumed that persons in many

professions would put this as a priority in a similar survey about their vocation.

However, monetary assistance also included some clever ideas from the artists,

such as money for renovation. For instance, the reason for planting an artist

colony is often to help counteract blight and the artists are correct in assuming

that they should not be responsible to carry the entire monetary burden for this.

After all, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and Community

113

Redevelopment Associations (CRA) are also intended to be burdened with that

responsibility, at least here in California.

The element “Marketing/Publicity” is an important notion, in that solely

naming an area an “artist colony” should not be the end point to marketing a

colony area. One artist noted the easily-implemented idea of art placed in local

government buildings – something that was helpful to the economy during the

days of the WPA (Works Progress Administration) during the depression and

placed prominent artists in the public eye. One artist gave these terms,

concerning the subject, “Publicity, tourism, local support (art in public places,

local government buildings, etc) ‘Community of Artists’.”

“Cheap rent” is also a category that could be requested by many people

outside of the art profession. However, these colonists are often living in what

many people consider, beforehand, to be unlivable space, and as a reward for

repairing its infrastructure they are often priced out of their homes. A number of

respondents mentioned rent caps as a possible remedy for this situation.

The next element, “Low Housing Cost,” also considers not only those

artists who rent, but also those who may want to own the space that they may

have helped to rescue from a blighted condition. One concept from a respondent

that was helpful mentions, “Reasonably priced live/work space” is an option.

Having to pay for both a home and a work space, plus, possibly, a gallery space

places an enormous burden on an artist. However, when these spaces are

combined in one location through live/work zoning areas, this is an efficient way

to lower housing costs for the artist.

114

“Tax Breaks,” as stated before, are a strange request to hear from

persons who are often associated with liberal views. However, as an economic

engine -- which often creates tax resources from a previously blighted

neighborhood -- should an artist colony be taxed at the same rate as other

businesses who are enabled to survive due to the encouraging energy created

by the generative presence of the colony?

“Continued Support” is an element that arose in the survey from a few

angry comments about how the government has been known, by many of these

respondents, to “drop the ball” in the middle of the artist colonies process of

helping its neighborhood. “Loyalty!” says, one artist, “If we build an area up,

promote it, support it, protect it and everyone benefits.”

“Security” asserts the premise of continued support. This element

describes the feeling of security for the artist that they will not be uprooted from

their home. A telling comment from a respondent says, “Before relocating I

would probably want some assurance that the colony wouldn't close down or

radically change form soon.” It might be said that the government institution that

sets up a colony and thinks of the artists merely as “tools” to create an end

product -- and not as “persons” with treasured lives -- is not a government

institution who exemplifies the principles of democracy.

“Gallery Space” is an important part of marketing the colony. One of the

artists calls these “exhibition opportunities in the city.” One organization, who

takes part in providing this gallery space in the Southern California area, is called

“Phantom Galleries.” They fill empty, sometimes blighted buildings around town

115

with presence and purpose through showing artworks. This also gives artists a

prestigious “Phantom Galleries” show, and provides a neighborhood with gallery

windows rather than merely boarded-up buildings (Phantom Galleries, 2006).

This researcher, as an artist, understands the element of “Space”

intimately. As an oil painter, an apartment with carpeting, and close walls does

not stay clean for long, and can cause the artist to lose his/her lease deposit.

Large works of art also need large spaces, which is a reason for the popularity of

un-walled, loft spaces with artists. However, this popularity of loft spaces has

also spread to the general public outside of the art world and makes loft space

expensive and hard to find for true artists. Colony planters could make it a

priority to fill the lofts spaces with artists and the newly-developed apartment

spaces in the area for the general public.

Finally, in the survey question of what would be missed if an artist moved

out of an artist colony, the “Community of Artists” was the overwhelming

response. Surprisingly, many artists noted the element by espousing the same

term: “camaraderie.” One artist specified it agreeably as “artist fellowship and

interaction.” The desire to have community is a goal of many people in all of our

neighborhoods and it is wonderful to know that “artist colonies” have been one

successful way for a few people to find the often-elusive, human-desired element

of “community.”

116

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PEER-REVIEWED SCHOLARLY SOURCES:

Agnes, M. (Ed.). (2000). Webster’s New World College Dictionary (Fourth ed.). Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.

Bain, A. (2003). Constructing contemporary artistic identities in Toronto neighbourhoods. The Canadian Geographer, 47 (3), 303-317.

Brower, S. (2000). Good Neighborhoods. Westport: Praeger.

Cameron, S., & Coaffee, J. (2005). Art, gentrification and regeneration - From artist as pioneer to public arts. European Journal of Housing Policy, 5 (1), 39-58.

Carr, J. H., & Servon, L. J. (2009). Vernacular Culture and Urban Economic Development. Journal of the American Planning Association, 75 (1), 28-40.

Cole, D. B. (1987). Artists and Urban Redevelopment. Geographical Review, 77 (4), 391-407.

Craig, A. (2007). Sustainability, reciprocity, and the shared good(s) of poetry. The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society , 257-269.

Donegan, M., Drucker, J., Goldstein, H., Lowe, N., & Malizia, E. (2008). Which indicators explain metropolitan economic performance best?: Traditional or creative class. Journal of the Amercan Planning Association, 74 (2).

Filer, R. K. (1986). The "Starving Artist" -- myth or reality? Earnings of artists in the United States. The Journal of Political Economy, 94 (1), 56-75.

Florida, R. (2002). The Rise of the Creative Class. New York: Basic Books.

Galenson, D. (2008). Analyzing artistic innovation. Historical Methods, 41 (3), 111-118.

Goler, R. I. (2005). A collective vision of artistry: The MacDowell Colony and the organizational design of creativity. The Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 35 (3), 217-226.

117

Hoch, C. D. (Ed.). (2000). The Practice of Local Government Planning (3rd ed.). Washington: ICMA University.

Kirk, P. L. (2009, January). Recycling old warehouses. Urban Land, pp. 54-61.

Ley, D. (2003). Artists, aestheticisation and the field of gentrification. Urban Studies, 40 (12), 2527-2544.

Lloyd, R. (2002). Neo-bohemia: Art and neighborhood redevelopment in Chicago. Journal of Urban Affairs, 24 (5), 517-532.

Lorente, J. P. (2000). Art neighborhoods, ports of vitality. Urban Futures, 1, 79-97.

Markusen, A. (2006). Urban development & the politics of a creative class: Evidence from the study of artists. Environment and Planning, 38 (10), 1921-1940.

Markusen, A., & Schrock, G. (2006). The artistic dividend: Urban artistic specialisation and economic development implications. (Routledge, Ed.) Urban Studies, 43 (10), 1661-1686.

Morgan, A. L. (Ed.). (2008). Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Nivin, S., & Plettner, D. (2009). Arts, culture, and econimic development. Economic Development Journal, 8 (1), 31-41.

O'Hagen, J., & Hellmanzik, C. (2008). Clustering and migration of important visual artists. (H. Publications, Ed.) Historical Methods, 41 (3), 121-134.

Peck, J. (2005). Struggling with the creative class. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 29 (4), 740-770.

Rosenfeld, S. (2004). Art and design as competitive advantage: A creative enterprise cluster in the western United States. (C. Publishing, Ed.) European Planning Studies, 12 (6), 891-904.

Shigley, P. (2004, March). Developers lure 'creative class' to suburban downtowns. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from California Planning and Development Report: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BYL/is_/ai_n25087296

118

Walker, C., Jackson, M., & Rosenstein, C. (2003). Culture and commerce: Traditional arts in economic development. The Fund for Folk Culture. Santa Fe: The Urban Institute.

Wheeler, S. W. (2004). Planning for Sustainability. New York: Routledge.

OTHER SOURCES:

Alter, A. (2009, April 17). Artists vs. Blight. The Wall Street Journal.

Allen, D, (2008, August 2). Montclair Plaza turns 40. Retrieved October 31, 2009 from Inland Daily Bulletin:

http://www.dailybulletin.com/columnists/ci_10081048

Arteco Partners. (2008, November). Arteco Partners. Retrieved November 17, 2008, from Current Projects: Artecopartners.com

Ascenzi, J. (2007, August 6). The Business Press . Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Aging Fox due for a makeover: http://www.thebizpress.com/news/stories/BP_News_Local_D_bp0806_fox_theater.d907be.html

Cornish, New Hampshire. (2009). Cornish, New Hampshire - The Official Town Web Site. Retrieved August 9, 2009, from Welcome to Cornish, New Hampshire : http://www.cornishnh.net/

dA Center for the Arts. (2008, Autumn). SOS - out of funds. dA , p. 1.

Fong, N. (2009, February 5). Todos Santos makes top ten artist colony list. Coastal Living Online.

Grant, D. (2006, June). Arts & Cultural Districts. American Artist, pp. 72-73.

Jacobs, J. (1985). Cities and the Wealth of Nations. New York: Vintage Books.

Kaye, A. (2007, April 1). Encinitas' 101 Artist Colony faces loss of lease again. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from North County Times: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/04/01/news/coastal/encinitas/23_37_543_31_07.txt

Martin, A. (2005, July 31). Gentrifying without Evicting the Artists. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/31/realestate/31njzo.html

119

McIntosh, H. (2008). Gentrification. Retrieved 2008, from Historic Seattle: http://www.historicseatlle.org/advocacy/gentrification.aspx

Metro Pomona. (2008, November 9). History. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Metro Pomona: http://www.metropomona.com/metrohistory.php

Noriyuki, D. (2002, December 12). Visiting Pomona art scene. Los Angeles Times, pp. E-20.

Oberon Media. (2009). Artist Colony. Retrieved July 10, 2009, from iplay.com: http://www.iplay.com/deluxe.aspx?code=117292670&refid=ArtistColonyLP&pid=ac4&gclid=CLSI0L2CzJsCFShRagodC2GKKQ

Phantom Galleries. (2006). Phantom Galleries Los Angeles. Retrieved September 26, 2009, from Phantom Galleries: http://www.phantomgalleriesla.com/index.html

Powers, A. (2009, April 4). Las Vegas: Portrait of a struggling arts scene. Los Angeles Times.

Provincetown Tourism Office and Visitor Services Board. (2009). America's Oldest Continuous Art Colony. Retrieved August 9, 2009, from Provincetown Tourism Office and Visitor Services Board: http://www.provincetowntourismoffice.org/index.aspx?NID=75

Schrank, S. (2003). "Artists' Colonies.". (T. G. Inc., Producer) Retrieved July 10, 2009, from Dictionary of American History - Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401800282.html

SurveyMonkey. (2009, May 1). Retrieved May - August 2009, from SurveyMonkey: http://www.surveymonkey.com

The MacDowell Colony. (2008, November 9). Community Outreach. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from The MacDowell Colony: http://www.macdowellcolony.org/outreach.html

Trivedi, K. (1999, September 10). Strange art may save Chinatown, but some think it's a fruity idea. The Wall Street Journal , pp. B-1.

Village of Bronxville, NY. (2009). History. Retrieved August 9, 2009, from Village of Bronxville: http://www.villageofbronxville.com/sube2_history11.htm

Wikipedia. (2008, November 9). Art Colony. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_colony

120

Wikipedia. (2008, November 9). Pomona, California. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomona,_California

Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Arts. (2009). Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Arts. Retrieved August 9, 2009, from Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Arts: http://woodstockchamber.com/

Zahniser, D. (2007). Welcome to Gentrification City. Retrieved from The LA Weekly: http://www.laweekly.com/news/features/welcome-to-gentrification-city/14285/

121

APPENDIX A

Survey for the Elements of a Successful Artist Colony

1. Are you male or female?

MaleFemale

2. What is your ethnicity?

AsianSome other raceCaucasian, not HispanicHispanicBlackHawaiian or Pacific IslanderNative AmericanTwo or more races

3. What state, or country, do you live in?

State:Country:

4. What is your art medium(s)?

PaintingSculptingCarvingDesignPoetryWritingPerformanceMediaOther (please specify)

5. Do you have a degree in art?1. Default Section

NoCertificateBachelor DegreeMasters DegreeDoctorate

6. Do you make a living with your art medium?

122

YesNoOther (please specify)

7. Do you currently (or have in the past) live, or work, in an artist colony/district?

Live(d)Live(d)/Work(ed)Work(ed)No (Skip to question 16)

8. What is/was the name of your artist colony/district?

9. Do you (or did you) have any kind of contract/agreement with your artist colony/district?

YesNoIf yes, please explain

10. Name the most important attribute of your colony/district that encouraged you to move there.

11. What is the most important attribute of your current artist colony/district, now, that a city government could provide to other artist colonies?

12. What element would you (do you) miss the most if you left this colony/district?

13. What is missing from your artist colony/district that you feel the city government should provide?

14. Gentrification is often a by-product of artist colonies. City governments have planted artist colonies to redevelop a blighted community. Do you feel that your artist colony/district is gentrifying the neighborhood?

YesNoNot yetIt will notIt did

123

I don't knowOther (please specify)

15. Do you have any opinion you would like to say about the possibility of gentrification caused by an artist colony?

16. Would you live in an artist colony/district, if you currently do not?

YesNoMaybeI live(d) in an artist colony/district

17. If you do not live in an artist colony/district, what is the most important element that a city government could provide to encourage you to move to one?

18. If there is an(other) artist colony/district you would like to live in, what is its name?

19. What else you would you like to see -- as a city government incentive -- in an artist colony?

20. Would you sign on to an agreement with an artist colony organization if required?

YesNoIt dependsComment?

21. If a city government starts an artist colony/district, does it owe anything to the artists?

YesNoI don't know

Explain

22. Is there anything else you would like to add?

124

APPENDIX B

Number of Notable Artists Associated with a State(according to a compilation of the Oxford dictionary of American Art and Artists CITATION Ann08 \l 1033 (Morgan, 2008) )

State or “F” for Foreign location

Birthplace Number

Creative State Number

State of Death Number

AL 5 1 1AK 0 1 0AR 0 0 0AZ 2 8 1CA 36 182 47CO 5 8 0CT 36 104 49DC 11 60 18DE 2 9 2F 278 965 108FL 2 26 16GA 7 14 5HI 2 3 1IA 8 8 2ID 1 4 1IL 37 57 10IN 10 9 0KS 8 2 0KY 5 9 2LA 4 6 3MA 106 258 84MD 13 10 8ME 9 39 11MI 8 16 6MN 12 10 4MO 11 17 1MS 3 0 0MT 1 5 1NC 3 2 1ND 3 0 0NE 5 2 0NH 10 31 11NJ 37 54 22NM 1 42 11

125

NV 0 1 0NY 231 969 338OH 49 30 3OK 5 1 1OR 5 6 1PA 108 159 39RI 9 22 8SC 6 19 3SD 0 1 0TN 7 8 3TX 2 16 3UT 3 3 0VA 13 26 5VT 8 19 3WA 6 8 1WI 13 9 4WV 3 4 1WY 1 1 2

126

APPENDIX C

Compiled Data of all the Elements Suggested

Categories Number who mentioned ElementAccessibility 3Adequate Housing 2Aesthetic Beauty 2Aesthetic Infrastructure 12Art Center 7Art Employment 2Artist Work Amenities 6Basic needs provided 1Bike Lanes 2Cheap Rent 55Cleanliness 6Clear Expectations 20Communal Living 2Community Garden 5Community Involvement 5Community of Artists 59Contests 1Continued Respect 26Continued Support 38Critical Mass 1Dating Possibilities 1Downpayment Assistance 1Economic Assistance 3Education 11Equitable Membership 1Family Programs 10Free Utilities 2Fresh Air 1Gallery Space 34Grants 15Green Infrastructure 1Health Care 5Historic Landmark Status 1Inspiration 18Jobs 3Less Politics 1Light 3Live/Work Space 8Low Cost of Living 7

127

Low Housing Cost 47Marketing/Publicity 67Monetary Assistance 71More than Branding 1Mutual Support 2Natural Beauty 5Networking 11No Micromanaging 10Not Sure 13Nothing 52Passive Landlord 1Personal Fit 1Piece of the Pie 1Political Involvement 13Privacy 4Prominent Location 1Public Art 2Public Infrustructure 13Public Transportation 6Recognition of its help 7Rent Control 5Residencies 2Safety 23Same as Business District 1Security 35Serious Artists 11Shops 6Space 33Special Zoning 5Sponsorship 1Tax Breaks 45Tolerance 11Walkability 2

Number of Elements 72 Total 889

128