Bruner Loeb forum

SENSE OF PLACE How important are the buildings and centers in which artistic activity takes place? What is their significance as a "safe" place, as a community marker, as a catalyst for physical transformation?
	How important is the physical structure of a successful art-based venue to the process of community transformation? Although the presenters have all been singled out as creators of significant urban places, the places vary in their degree of permanence and physical presence. Gallery 37 began as a temporary program invented to solve a public image problem caused by a vacant downtown lot. The arts and education activities that filled that lot for several summers took hold, bringing inner-city children into Chicago’s high end “loop,” increasing the visibility of artistic activity to city workers and downtown shoppers. Today that same vacant lot houses a vibrant summer program that draws kids from all over Chicago and, in the winter months, the permanent home of Gallery 37 now provides ongoing space for art training after school and gallery space for young artists. Gallery 37 is a well-designed, well-known, and beloved locus of arts activities in the downtown cultural district.
	WaterFire began as a one-time public art performance on the Providence River and has become the symbol of the rebirth of downtown. Now a permanent fixture in Providence, and staged on Saturday nights throughout the summer, Waterfire has become a defining event for downtown Providence. With the lighting of the fires, WaterFire makes the Providence Rivers alive, and creates a new place with each lighting. Related street theatre, sculpture, dance and performance along the river enhance the magical effect of the fires, and create a unique place as ephemeral as the art itself. The fact that Waterfire disappears between lightings makes its significance that much more mysterious.
	Project Row Houses has created a new sense of importance for the row house. Before PRH, the ubiquitous row houses of the Third and Fourth Wards in Houston were little valued. Many were derelict; structures slated to be torn down or removed. Because PRH has based its program and identity in the row house, its historical importance has been restored, and attention brought to its integrity and significance. There is new recognition of an important housing typology.
		…Some practitioners were focused on the physical assets (built or natural environment) and others were focused on the human and creative assets of a community. All were engaged in changing perceptions, either of self, of community, or both. Tom Borrup
	MASS MoCA is located in a town that was suffering from a major loss of manufacturing jobs. One of the principal economic generators, Sprague Electric, had abandoned a large group of industrial mill buildings. Their imposing vacancy symbolized the abandonment and hopelessness in this small town. By transforming that complex of factory buildings into a vibrant new museum, MoCA led the city’s ability to re-invent itself. MoCA has made a symbol of despair into the symbol of a new identity for a city, and has created a new experience of its own downtown for residents and visitors alike.
		They are beautiful, inspiring places. They have clear, over-riding identities combined with elements of surprise. They attract diverse people with a mix of continuous activity and a sense of safety and comfort. They have affirmative relationships with neighboring spaces. And they are living bridges to both local history and the global world we inhabit. -Holly Sidford, Boston Forum November 2002
	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