#ArtMattersInLA

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/miranda/la-et-campdtla-development-pushes-artists-outparts-district-20151202-column.html

Los Angeles Arts District Sign
blogs.kcrw.com

Hello Everyone:

Today we move from 'Toon Town-esque car museums to the Arts District in Los Angeles.  An arts district conjures up images of painters and photographers working in their studio lofts, pausing occasionally to spend time in the local cafe, sipping espressos.  Now imagine an arts district without artists.  Sounds strange but this is the dilemma that Carolinaa A. Miranda looks at in her recent Los Angeles Times article, "Now that artists can't afford the Arts District, L.A. needs to rethink its role as a creative city."  Los Angeles rightfully prides itself on being a city that is home to art practitioners of all its glorious genres.  However, the robust real estate boom and the ever expanding neighborhood boundaries have made it nearly impossible for artists, who sought out low cost housing and studio space, to continue living an working in the area.

Molina Street Lofts
Los Angeles, California
la-luxury-homes.com

Both L.A. Curbed (http://www.la.curbed.com) and the L.A. Weekly (http://www.laweekly.com) recently ran articles about rampant development in the neighborhood.  The former printed a staggering list of every development projects which include an unbelievable number of lofts, hipster coffee emporiums, high-end restaurants, upscale mall, tech center, and the project that has generated the most chatter-a downtown branch of the posh private club the SoHo House.  The Weekly's Catherine Wagley wrote about how a pair of small galleries on South Santa Fe Street are being pushed out to make room for luxury condominiums only a year after they opened.  One property owner was quoted in the Weekly for Ms. Wagley's story "Is Downtown L.A.'s Art Scene Already Doomed?",  I've seen a neighborhood change this fast. 

Arts District mural
windowssearch-exp.com

Carolina Miranda writes, "Sure, there is some art in the mix.  Mega-Gallery Hauser Wirth & Schimmel is expected to open a 100,000-square-fort complex...And while it will be free to visit..this will be the sort of international blue chip space that isn't exactly going to do anything for artists in search of cheap studios."  Do you see the problem?

Right now, Los Angeles is enamored with the idea of the city as an incubator of creativity.  This is not a new idea because Los Angeles has been the home of a stunning array of architects, designers, painters, writers, musicians, sculptors, and photographers who have made their mark, and continue to, on the modern and contemporary art scene.  Mayor Eric J. Garcetti and civic boosters trumpet Los Angeles as a creative capital.  Los Angeles's cultural scene has been the subject of a great deal of media coverage.

Outdoor cafe in the DTLA Arts District
airbnb.com

Once a year, the Otis College of Art and Design publishes a report calculating the economic impact of the region's "creative economy." (http://www.otis.edu/otis-report-creative-economy).  According to the report's authors, it provides powerful and persuasive evidence of the enormous positive fiscal impact of the creative industries across California.

However, as Ms. Miranda rightly points out, "...if L.A. is going to remain a creative capital, its civic and cultural leaders are going to need to do more than offer really great talk about how great we are."  The history of art and architecture tell us this, what L.A. genuinely needs is solid ideas and execution to ensure that the city remains a fantastic place to be a creative person.  The Otis Report on the Creative Economy is the starting point.

Cover for the 2014 Otis Report on Creative Economy
otis.edu

Carolina Miranda reports, " The report is helpful as a compendium of statistics about which creative industries call California home and what their economic impact might be."  It is an optimistic reports about what makes up a creative industry.  Ms. Miranda continues, "Among the 1.4 million jobs generated (direct, indirect and induced), fields such as apparel manufacturing and wholesaling are included by the report's authors.  By that logic, all those sweatshops in Bangladesh comprise a buzzing cultural district."  Blogger agrees with Ms. Miranda's assessment that if the study is to be more than an annual pat-on-the-back, it needs some rock solid recommendations on how L.A. stacks up against other culturally rich cities and how the it can improve the situation for art practitioners and cultural institutions large and small.

Studio Museum
Adjure & Associates, Cooper, Robertson & Partners
New York City
nytimes.com

The New York-based Center for an  Urban Future publishes a similar report, albeit less frequent, on the state of the arts in the city.  The report, "Creative New York" is more comprehensive.  Specifically, it offers information on how Ncw York' cultural scenes compares to the bigger national picture.  It also contains information on creative industry job growth relative to other place in America.  It breaks down the location of these jobs across the country.  The report also looks at the cost of living  issues, the closure of cultural space, and the dwindling government grant monies.  Finally, the report also analyzes the strength of the nonprofit sector and attendance figures in the performing arts.

Ghost Ship, 2005
Benoit Palley
New Museum
observer.com

"Creative New York" gives a holistic picture of city's cultural assets and how they look within the local and national context.  Ms. Miranda writes, "In fact, it was in reading 'Creative New York' that I found out how much Los Angeles County seriously lags when it comes to share of households donating to public broadcasting or the arts."  New York City tops the list, followed by DeKalb County, Georgia, and San Francisco.  Los Angeles is not even in the top ten.

"Creative New York" also offers nine pages of helpful recommendations on what could make the city more hospitable to the arts.  Some of the recommendations include: programs that have successfully given practitioners free or below-market studio space.  It offers helpful suggestions on how practitioners could better qualify for subsidized housing and ways to make the tax code less onerous for creative workers.  The cherry on top (please pay attention), it presents strategies for real estate developers and property owners to better support cultural activities "...by designation less lucrative second- and third-story or other off-the-street retail spaces as cultural zones that rent at below market rates."
The report states,

  City officials should work with local development corporations and other business organizations to develop a set of carrots and sticks that could encourage landlords to rent these spaces to arts organizations, creative businesses, freelancers and others with significant space needs.

Which leads to execution.

Bicicleta Sefreio
Los Angeles, California
news.upperplayground.com

It is at this stage where civic and cultural leaders come in.  Carolina Miranda reports, "In recent weeks, developers and civic leaders in the Arts District have been debating the minute of a live-work ordinance that would help preserve the character of the neighborhood by continuing to develop buildings where creative types might be able to both live and work."  This debate seems rather pointless when a photographer or writer cannot afford to live and work in a 1000-square-foot studio loft.

Zoning is not the real issue, income is the main issue.  If neighborhoods such as the Arts District are to continue to be vibrant centers of art production, then we need to not only set aside functional spaces, but also affordable spaces for practitioners.  To clarify, we are not talking about well-heeled entertainment industry types, programmers, or the mysteriously rich elite.  Blogger agrees with Ms. Miranda's assertion that "A healthy neighborhood is like a healthy ecosystem and should have a little bit of everything-including members of the working class."

Rendering of proposed mixed-use project
Arts District
la.curbed.com

All of this will requires some major incentive programs from civic leaders.  Developers would need incentives to build affordable housing and give financial breaks to all cultural spaces.  This would require action from City Council and the Mayor's Office.  Council member Jose Huizar, whose district includes the Arts District, would have to lead the charge.  Ms. Miranda notes, "Huizar, incidentally, is no stranger to development, some of which isn't exactly known for its sensitive urban planning."

Regardless, it might be a case of too little, too late for the Arts District.  However, all is not not doom and gloom.  There are still parts of Los Angeles that have not been developed to death.  If Otis's annual report contained a series of well considered recommendations, it could be helpful in mapping the possibilities in Los Angeles-beyond the Arts Districts-to keep L.A.'s arts scene going strong.

Art matters to the life of a city.  Los Angeles has historically been a haven for creative types.  Let us hope it stays that way.