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CHALLENGES OF SUCCESS
Gentrification, heightened expectations, expanded staff and board requirements are all characteristic of successful projects. How can the challenges be met? |
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Grass roots, mission-focused projects that grow from small organizations into bigger organizations are sometimes startled by the challenges presented by their success. Suddenly the Board of Directors, once a collection of like-minded friends, is called upon to provide sophisticated legal and financial advice. Staff are called upon to perform increasingly complex and challenging tasks, and to handle more and different kinds of clients and visitors. For art-based places used to scraping by on minimal resources and sweat equity, fund raising success requires sophisticated accounting, reporting, and procedures. Does the organization have the capacity to move to the next level of expertise ? |
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Similarly, there are challenges that come with success at the community level. Gentrification, for example, is both a desired and a feared outcome. Often the transformative effects of successful projects include increased property values, new investment in the area, and sometimes new development pressure. How can those elements be accommodated in communities, while still preserving neighborhood character and protecting community residents? How can project leaders assure that the benefits of a project accrue to those who created it and to the original denizens of the communities in which they are located? |
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Although this challenge is not unique to communities where revitalization has been sparked through the arts, it is a challenge that arises again and again where pioneer projects have been successful. Houston’s Third Ward, location of Project Row Houses, was once the neglected neighbor to downtown. As a result of increased visitors to the Third Ward, and the enormous success of PRH, the Third Ward is now the subject of developer speculation. Similarly, MASS MoCA has made North Adams a major new destination. As a result, housing prices in North Adams are on the rise, and there is increased competition for artist housing, gallery space, and commercial space. Most grass roots places are located in communities where some gentrification would help the community, but at what point does project success threaten the traditional fabric of place? |
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Business and culture are two integral, interdependent systems that are part and parcel of a thriving community. Without one, the other does not function optimally. Without both in place and working, the community is incomplete, in a sense handicapped. Lois Weisberg, Chicago Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, November “03 Forum |
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The stories differ. As Project Row Houses began to transform the first 22 shot gun houses in the 3rd Ward, there was significant interest in the project, but a general reluctance for people to venture into the Third Ward. In response, Lowe created a large scale mural installation in one of the houses, designed to be viewed from a car. Lowe’s “drive-by exhibition” sparked additional interest, and established the project as an art-based place. Over the years PRH has become well-established and is a destination within Houston and beyond. Nationally and internationally known artists, many of whom are African-American, install exhibits that attract a wide variety of viewers. However, Lowe states, “We got a rude awakening. We were hoping to get more people involved, and when we had done that, and people wanted to be there, land values skyrocketed. It hit the ground in January when one of the largest town home developers sent flyers asking people to sell their houses to them.” Although still in its initial stages, Project Row Houses has embarked on a plan to help hold down displacement though property acquisition, planning and organizing housing development. The goal is to embrace what exists and to invite new people in. The trick is to manage the balance and no one has reached any solutions for the competing pressures. |
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Although many of the presenters’ projects are located in areas that would still welcome and are in fact courting additional new investment, (NJPAC, Village of Arts and Humanities, Inner-City Arts) the potential for success-related challenges is there for all of the projects. There are clearly no one-size-fits-all answers to this kind of challenge. Like the projects themselves, solutions must grow out of the particular characteristics of each setting. But as different places develop solutions, it will be important to watch and learn the tools and approaches that help art-based places accommodate success. |
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Brookings Institution
Policy Link
Chicago Rehab |
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OTHER TOPICS:
Art is Essential
Impacts
Measuring the Impacts
Sense of Place
Race and Diversity
Collaboration Helps
Seizing Opportunity
Art and Education
Challenges of Success
Leadership and Transition
Adapting the Models |
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