Gloucester Daily Times
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/
Published: January 25, 2008 12:00 am
Gloucester: Well positioned for 'creative economy?'
By Gail McCarthy , Staff writer
Gloucester Daily Times
Gloucester's arts coalition has received a stamp of approval, with the award of a $35,000 grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, presented in person by its top officials.
The ceremony took place at the fourth annual meeting of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (seARTS) attended by more than 125 residents, ranging from artists to businessmen to government representatives. The vision of seARTS is to transform Cape Ann into a world-class center for the arts - and by doing so, find ways to invigorate the local economy.
"The people in this room are risk takers who are willing to invest their time, talent and funds in a future where art and culture play a major role in driving the local economy," said seARTS president Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco.
North Adams Mayor John Barrett III talked about that subject in telling the story of his city's journey from an economic quagmire to a city of cultural note - and home to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MassMOCA).
Barrett, who had just flown in from Virginia where he spoke to a Virginia arts council, talked about how arts can drive economic development. North Adams, a one-industry town built around the now-defunct Sprague Electric, was at a low point around the time he took office in 1984. The city's image was so bad, he said, that North Adams State College changed its name to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts so as not to be associated with the city's depressed reputation.
After 14 years of work, the city opened the contemporary art museum in 1999, and it has become the engine driving the change of North Adams' image into a vibrant cultural destination, said Barrett, who, in his 25th year, is Massachusetts' longest-serving mayor.
Several times, he emphasized the importance of government in creating change.
"Creative economy is not about art or business so much as it is about community and making things happen," he said to the seARTS audience. "This is an impressive group here. But you have to get people out of the neighborhoods and involved. Artists have to become part of the governmental process."
Barrett also made some pointed remarks about instituting change.
"Don't waste your time and money on consultants. Create a vision and then hire the people to carry out the vision," he said.
In terms of developers, Barrett told residents not to be afraid of "roughing up" developers and to be true to high standards.
"Never let a developer come into your community without shaking them down," he said. "We have a strong site-review process to stop all those things that could be tacky."
Barrett noted the spillover of economic growth once the museum was established. Shortly after, six restaurants opened nearby, all which are still in business. The ripple effect continued with the opening of a few small inns, followed by professional space and then some housing years later.
Barrett noted that the overhaul was not without extensive perseverance and effort.
Before the museum opened, he said, he gathered local businessmen together to encourage them to open on Main Street, which was filled with empty storefronts. Not one did.
"They weren't ready," he said.
Since that time, he noted, the business community has become an active part of the "creative economy" equation. And the community as a whole has grown supportive, partly through officials' efforts to bring children to the museum and thereby integrate their families into the economic development drive, too.
State support
Anita Walker, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, said Gloucester is a quintessential place for a creative economy.
She noted that while some communities are trying to attract artists, Gloucester already has about 2,000 artists in residence.
She commended seARTS for its recognition of the power of its many partnerships.
"Gloucester is truly a very special place," she said. "This community is the recipient of funds of one of the most competitive grants programs that Massachusetts has. We are thrilled to bring new funding. SeARTS has tapped into something. Everyone says you need to work together and you did."
This is the fourth year in which seARTS received money through the John and Abigail Adams grants program, which was created in 2004. Each two-year grant is $35,000, which the organization must match.
These grants and the idea of "creative economy" go beyond the arts, Walker said.
"It's about a stronger, more prosperous Massachusetts," she said. "When you put yourselves together you are something different. You're an economic engine ... It takes everyone working together. Individuals may be smart, but together you are brilliant."
Meri Jenkins, manager of the Adams grants program for creative economy, thinks of Gloucester as "the little engine that could."
She recalled when seARTS was awarded a grant around 2002 - and the state ultimately did not fund it.
"I remember Jo-Ann Castano saying to me 'We can't stop now. It's not about money.' There was an important conversation going on around here - and they didn't stop," Jenkins said.
The seARTS committee has also impressed state officials - in part, because of the diversity of people involved.
"There is a committed core group of people who convene regularly to talk about next steps," she said. "They have the wherewithal to talk about joint economic issues from an arts and cultural perspective. The arts culture plays a strong part in helping alongside other economic development strategies."
Jenkins noted how seARTS has found ways to show off its artists and work with local business.
"People often say, 'We don't have venues, so we can't do this.' But (seARTS) has been entrepreneurial about its use of space. It's allowing the community to see itself in a slightly different way," said Jenkins, noting how a modern dance performance was held in the cold room of Cape Pond Ice, a far from usual dance venue.
Sara Young, seARTS executive director, said that, in the next year the organization will grow its programs, advocacy and member services, while making its Web site more interactive and providing broader networking.
The organization is aiming to have a voice for the arts on Cape Ann - "a voice that can convene interested and critical parties to discuss housing, harbor development, performance and display spaces, artistic districts and other proven building blocks to the creative economy," Ganim-DeFalco said.
Making her last address as president, she said seARTS members understand the "gifts we have here on Cape Ann.
"They recognize that these gifts must be preserved, shared and looked at with a new perspective - so that we can build thoughtfully for the future."