Artists on display : open studios and the search for community empowerment

The much publicized and mythologized transformation of cities such as Barcelona and urban neighborhoods like SoHo in New York City, have led to broader ideas about the "Creative City," the "Creative Economy," and the "Creative Class." In an attempt to reap the promised riches of wealth, job creation, and prestige, some cities have developed strategies to promote their "livable" neighborhoods and attract "creative" workers and cultural tourism, but these ideas support a specific conception of what art and creativity is and what the role of artists should be in revitalization. The overall message that is conveyed is that consumption-oriented arts and entertainment ventures are more highly valued than noncommercial arts incubators and venues. Much like an ecological system, the success of commercial arts ventures is dependent on the success of the noncommercial arts venues. By focusing solely on commercial exchange, a city may fail to sustain all the parts necessary for a healthy arts community. Likewise, the arts community's embrace of commercial opportunities, in combination with the lack of a unified voice that calls for nurturing the arts community's unique and rich diversity, sends a signal back to the city that the disruption of their "arts ecology" is acceptable. venues, nurture creativity and innovative ideas, and promote diverse conceptions of art?

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Peditto, Gena M

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• J. Mark Schuster.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38654

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38654