By Carol Coletta, ArtPlace director

Can arts save struggling cities? That’s the question Grist reporter Greg Hanscom asked in a recent article profiling the work of ArtPlace. With Knight Foundation as a founding partner and Knight Vice President/Arts Dennis Scholl serving as chairman of its Operating Committee, ArtPlace aims to accelerate creative placemaking in communities across the nation.

“The excitement about this initiative is like nothing I have ever experienced,” observed ArtPlace director Carol Coletta. “There are already so many powerful examples of community transformation with art and culture at their heart. We need to shine a bright light on these examples that are literally everywhere so that mayors and other local leaders recognize what an asset this can be for jump starting local momentum.”

While some skeptics argue that artists cannot “transform the entire economy of a city,” it is also clear that no investment in any single “solution” will do that — not housing, not infrastructure, not industrial recruitment. Instead, only a smart portfolio of focused strategies all aimed at the same goal can do that. Art and artists are assets waiting to be tapped. And ArtPlace intends to do just that.

Read below for an excerpt from the Grist piece and click here to read the complete article.

Cross posted from Grist.com

“In September, ArtPlace announced $11.5 million in grants for the Detroit FAB Lab and 33 other projects designed to “integrate artists and arts organizations into key local efforts in transportation, housing, community development, job creation and more.” Two months prior, the NEA doled out $6.5 million in the first round of Our Town grants, funding 51 public-private partnerships that are also trying to both buoy up the arts and reshape communities.

But if the goal is to strengthen local economies, are these people wise to throw their money at artists? Wouldn’t foundations and government agencies be better off putting their money toward industries that create real jobs?”