Coming Attractions…

Sometimes it’s difficult to get the big picture on multi-faceted issues, even more so around here. We’ve noticed a profound lack of cohesive, “News-reporting” locally. I’m not volunteering to fill the void, but I am willing to attempt to suture some of my observations about the impending Youngstown art renaissance. A lot of what you’ll read here is purely speculation on my part, and I’m not always that swift, so please correct me where possible.

Part One:Youngstown 2010-A subject we’ve all heard of, but the bulk of the local populous is unacquainted with the details. Here’s the low-down. Mayor Jay Williams, in consideration of the fact that Youngstown has lost the majority of it’s inhabitants, and industry, and will likely never regain them, came up with the unprecedented notion of down-sizing the city. The plans call for a new map of the city. Whole neighborhoods would be leveled, and turned to forests while their inhabitants would be relocated to areas chosen for rehabilitation. The city of Youngstown would be no more: it would be transformed into a network of, “districts” separated by green spaces. 2010 is a couple of months away. There have been some snags. The people in the first neighborhood targeted for annihilation, refused to move. They also ran out of money for demolitions-you try and figure out what that means.
Those snags don’t stop plans from being made. Youngstown has picked a neighborhood to be the first, “Renaissance District”. That would be The Garden District, some of the details of what the city, and The Garden District Neighborhood Association can be seen on the links I’ve provided.

Part Two: Philanthropic Community Foundations
 Thank God for these folks. Most every place has them, humble heroes who generally don’t make a big deal about the heaps of money they bestow on worthy causes. One of our local organizations is The Wean Foundation, They write substantial grants to eligible tax-exempt organizations under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) or as public charities under section 509(a) of that code who are providing services benefiting the residents of Mahoning and Trumbull Counties in Ohio for the purpose of  directly raising the capacity of the recipient to effectively perform its stated mission.  

Part Three: Various Local Art Organizations
It’s not my intention to depart from being clinical, and I hope I don’t. Honest, I don’t have anything against anyone. I simply come from the perspective of a slightly skeptical, but optimistic local artist. There are a few local art organizations, I’ve had some interactions with most of them. A friend recently commented on the subject, “It’s such a closed group in so many ways(the Youngstown art community), and if you’re not already friends with so and so or part of some other prominent organization, it’s really hard to even get a foot in the door.” That’s not an uncommon opinion, and that’s a shame. It’s so counter to what well-wishers of the local art scene call out for. It has caused me to ponder what’s the motivation of  local art organizations that aren’t actively seeking to engage local artists? Let me be clear that I’m not attempting to make any blanket statements about any of our local art organizations, they all have their thing, and their own way of doing their thing. I’ve had good interactions with some of our local organizations. If a local art organization meets the criteria, it is eligible for having money heaped on it by one or more of our local Philanthropic Community Foundations.

Part Four: Rust-Belt to Art-Belt
This post-industrial era we live in has left a, “Rust-Belt” across the country, and indeed all over the world. Places like Youngstown, “Dying cities” as they are called. In recent years, there has been a renaissance art movement in some of the more blighted areas. The idea is to induce an art-based economy. The first place I heard of doing this was Paduca Kentucky. I think they’ve had some success. I mentioned before that I’m not that swift, I have trouble wrapping my mind around how it works, but in blighted places all over, people are giving it a whirl.
On Thursday, June 18 at The Butler North Education Center, The Wean Foundation, The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley and The Youngstown Foundation  sponsored a session titled “Valley of the Arts: How artists can transform our neighborhoods.” A panel of community development and arts experts discussed the role of the arts in transforming neighborhoods. This  included a brief overview of a paper called  From Rust Belt to Artist Belt

Part Five: Current Events
In November of 2007, Art Youngstown Incorporated made it’s debut. It was formed by local artists, and art supporters. They promptly introduced themselves on their new website as, ” a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization with the purpose of enhancing the community through artistic expression for charitable, educational and scientific purposes.” They also included a mission statement that sounded pretty good. They’ve had a couple of events since their inception, and received some very good sponsorship. Again, as I stated, I am ignorant, and often don’t understand how things work. In the past couple of years, I haven’t been able to understand why Art Youngstown hasn’t taken visible steps towards its stated goals: They’ve gotten a good chunk of money from generous sponsors, and grants, how hard can it be to appropriate some of the bounty of empty buildings available for gallery, and or studio space? Better late than never I guess. John Cumpston, treasurer of The Garden District Neighborhood association leaked to me that Gallery and Studio space are in the works from Art Youngstown in the near future. Since It’s John Cumpston doing the leaking, one might assume such an art space will be located in the garden district.
A couple of days ago I recieved an email from Art Youngstown, and it read like this:

Dear Friends,

Please see details below for an Arts Council meeting from the Westside Garden District Neighborhood Association.

The Lemon Grove Cafe has offered to provide us the opportunity to meet and form the Art Council. The meeting will be on Sunday November 1st at 3:00 pm at the Lemon Grove Cafe Downtown Youngstown. 
 
We are hoping that all who have shown an interest in forming an Arts Council will be able to make this meeting. Your input and ideas are vital to our success if You can make this meeting please let me know. 
 
Please RSVP at jjerryo@sbcglobal.net

 So there You have it, as near as I can figure. I suppose if you want to have a say in matters such as these, You may want to attend on November 1st.
Good luck!