Hows this for community placemaking? Who will step up for this project to happen in NoDa?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Doing little things, to make things a little better.
NoDa Public Gallery is an ongoing community placemaking project in the NoDa neighborhood (properly known as North Charlotte), in the city of Charlotte, NC, USA.
The group is mostly made up of neighbors, artists, and friends throughout NoDa. The group is fluid; anyone my contribute at any time, for however long and to whatever extent they want. Organization and leadership is loose; anyone may step up to suggest ideas, assemble pieces, or contribute under the auspices at any time.
In order to understand why the NoDa Public Gallery is needed, I'll have to give you a small history lesson: The North Charlotte neighborhood has always been a blue collar, aspirational, and autonomous place. From the beginning as a mill village, well outside the watchful eye of Center City, North Charlotte worked as an independent and self sufficient blue collar neighborhood. Even after the mills vacated the buildings which still stand along the rail lines, North Charlotte neighbors still existed just below the attention of the greater community. And as the neighborhood fell into blight and decay, the lack of attention became more noticeable. However, the entrepreneurial and grassroots community spirit of North Charlotte was renewed in the early 90's as anartist's refuge and community. Much as other cities' artist's neighborhoods began in environs that others have dismissed as unlivable and undesirable, with the care and love of a group of concerned and invested neighbors, North Charlotte gave birth to Charlotte's Arts District - NoDa. And, as with Arts Districts, the hard work of a few have given way to the waves of gentrification - pricing out affordability, and effectively drawing attention to the neighborhood from zoning boards, code officials, real estate investors, and even...yuppies...
You can't go back from this. This is the cycle. This is the little rock band that practiced in their garage for years, making amazing music - until someone played their song on the radio and they got famous. That band can't go back to the garage. And most of the time, they just break up.
But breaking up a neighborhood is the solution. There are other options, ways to keep NoDa humble, grassroots, affordable, neighborly, genuine. People love to say that the golden days are over - artists can't afford to live in the houses anymore, and grassroots businesses and galleries can't afford to lease the very buildings that define the neighborhood.
And this is where the NoDa Public Gallery got it's origins. We realized that there is so much more to a neighborhood than expensive condos, and over priced retail spaces. In fact, there is marginally more "public" space than "private" space in the world. And most of us even pay taxes for the use and upkeep of the "public" space. Do you feel represented by the work that our city and county does with OUR public spaces? Do you feel connected to the dead end streets, and the unkept street corners, and ignored "parks," and the wasteland of parking lots, and littered sidewalks? These are OUR public spaces. And soon, they will be OUR public galleries - 100% affordable, open 24 hours a day - 7 days a week, no door charge!
A "gallery" can be anything. It's not just about "artwork." Anything that is created is art. A painting, a planting, a place to play boardgames. Anything that connects the PUBLIC to the PLACE.
So let's get to work. As the title of this blog says: "Doing little things, to make things a little better." Where will you start - let's hear your ideas.
The group is mostly made up of neighbors, artists, and friends throughout NoDa. The group is fluid; anyone my contribute at any time, for however long and to whatever extent they want. Organization and leadership is loose; anyone may step up to suggest ideas, assemble pieces, or contribute under the auspices at any time.
In order to understand why the NoDa Public Gallery is needed, I'll have to give you a small history lesson: The North Charlotte neighborhood has always been a blue collar, aspirational, and autonomous place. From the beginning as a mill village, well outside the watchful eye of Center City, North Charlotte worked as an independent and self sufficient blue collar neighborhood. Even after the mills vacated the buildings which still stand along the rail lines, North Charlotte neighbors still existed just below the attention of the greater community. And as the neighborhood fell into blight and decay, the lack of attention became more noticeable. However, the entrepreneurial and grassroots community spirit of North Charlotte was renewed in the early 90's as anartist's refuge and community. Much as other cities' artist's neighborhoods began in environs that others have dismissed as unlivable and undesirable, with the care and love of a group of concerned and invested neighbors, North Charlotte gave birth to Charlotte's Arts District - NoDa. And, as with Arts Districts, the hard work of a few have given way to the waves of gentrification - pricing out affordability, and effectively drawing attention to the neighborhood from zoning boards, code officials, real estate investors, and even...yuppies...
You can't go back from this. This is the cycle. This is the little rock band that practiced in their garage for years, making amazing music - until someone played their song on the radio and they got famous. That band can't go back to the garage. And most of the time, they just break up.
But breaking up a neighborhood is the solution. There are other options, ways to keep NoDa humble, grassroots, affordable, neighborly, genuine. People love to say that the golden days are over - artists can't afford to live in the houses anymore, and grassroots businesses and galleries can't afford to lease the very buildings that define the neighborhood.
And this is where the NoDa Public Gallery got it's origins. We realized that there is so much more to a neighborhood than expensive condos, and over priced retail spaces. In fact, there is marginally more "public" space than "private" space in the world. And most of us even pay taxes for the use and upkeep of the "public" space. Do you feel represented by the work that our city and county does with OUR public spaces? Do you feel connected to the dead end streets, and the unkept street corners, and ignored "parks," and the wasteland of parking lots, and littered sidewalks? These are OUR public spaces. And soon, they will be OUR public galleries - 100% affordable, open 24 hours a day - 7 days a week, no door charge!
A "gallery" can be anything. It's not just about "artwork." Anything that is created is art. A painting, a planting, a place to play boardgames. Anything that connects the PUBLIC to the PLACE.
So let's get to work. As the title of this blog says: "Doing little things, to make things a little better." Where will you start - let's hear your ideas.
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