![]() And although new commercial tenants might not hold Downstreet Art directly responsible for their decision to open up shop, it does deserve credit for creating a sense that "something's happening," a sense of potential that makes investment appear reasonable. Downstreet Art brings people downtown, into the restaurants and shops and the (largely noncommercial) art venues. Since the Mass MoCA campus is physically separated from downtown North Adams, Downstreet Art is important in defining the city as a cultural haven, rather than simply an empty vessel where Mass MoCA is located. ![]() Downstreet Art fills underused public and private spaces with pop-up galleries, performances, public art projects, and the like throughout the summer and fall. Investment on such a scale would not happen if not for Mass MoCA.Īlso capitalizing on the presence of Mass MoCA, MCLA's Downstreet Art (DSA), a public art project designed to revitalize downtown, was launched five years ago, in 2007. The successful proposal, approved by the City in June 2012, removes the park's maintenance from the city's budget and rebrands the site as a retail center integrated with the state's new gateway to Mount Greylock. For example, it has intervened in the threatened destruction of one of the city's iconic churches and has collaborated on an RFP (request for proposal) to redevelop Heritage State Park. The Partnership for North Adams, a joint effort of the city, Mass MoCA, and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) is spurring community development projects through public-private partnerships. Today as MoCA enters its teens, several long-term development projects are beginning to take root. New artist-oriented loft developments, the North Adams dot-com boomlet, and the draw of Mass MoCA's year round art, cinema, music, and performance offerings (which help local companies retain employees) have all contributed to the increase in property values. Meanwhile, home affordability has declined with the increase in home values. ![]() At only $253 per week, wages in this sector are about half of the next lowest, retail. Keeping the money in circulation at home results in greater community benefits.Īnother consideration is that, according to data from the Berkshire regional planning commission, the average weekly wage in the sector most improved by Mass MoCA-that of "arts, entertainment, food services, and accommodation"-actually has the lowest average weekly wage of any employment sector in North Adams by far. However, creative place making emphasizes the value of locales being able to retain a higher share of income that is generated by residents (as opposed to tourists). Counting tourists, the economic impact is closer to $14 million. So says Center for Creative Communities (C3), a collaboration of Williams College and Mass MoCA, which also documented a net growth of over $9.4 million annually in the county economy. Opened in 1999, Mass MoCA created 77 jobs by 2002 and influenced the creation of 150 jobs by other businesses. After it closed, its empty hulk weighed on the city's spirit. The Sprague electric plant, which houses the museum, was once the largest employer in North Adams. The symbolic value of Mass MoCA has been huge. This approach replaces the superhero fallacy of arts-oriented development with models that respect community institutions and affect the lives of low-income residents in a more meaningful way. By framing North Adams as a prototypical "creative place," we can consider the ways in which major arts development projects intersect with preexisting community assets. Creative place making (shaping the character of a geographic area around the arts and culture) provides a useful paradigm for exploring the synergy between the two creative spheres. In North Adams, the walls of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA) form a dividing line between the high minded art within and the struggling postindustrial city without.īut outside the 13-acre complex, the erstwhile mill town boasts its own arts community, comprising artists who arrived after MoCA and institutions and residents who predate it.
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