untitled works in concrete by Donald Judd in Marfa , Texas ly related to contemporary art . The town is a four-hour drive from the nearest city , but it has become a tourist destination .
I started to think a lot about how a hard-toreach place whose main focus is contemporary art had become a tourist destination . I was really thinking about this after a recent conversation with a few others working in the arts . We were talking about a petition going around which addresses the efforts by our new president to stop funding for arts groups like the National Endowment for the Arts . I kept thinking about how Marfa was thriving , and what a place like New York City would be like without all of the creatives . I was thinking about how many people ended up in New York because they wanted to be artists , and many I ’ d known had become successful or at least made a living as an artist , though some had come home . I ’ ve known a couple people who ended up being lawyers , a few in advertising . Anyway , these stories are common .
Richard Florida ’ s research about the creative class , and how the areas that later become gentrifi ed are usually made interesting by artists , is relevant to this . The idea is that where
Orlando Arts & Culture , v . 2.2 the artists go , the real estate market will soon fl ourish . It ’ s interesting that I hear about all of the business-minded people wanting to take away arts funding . I would think they would look at artists as an investment instead of money thrown away .
Places like Brooklyn , Asheville , Portland , San Francisco , have so many visitors because of the creative population . That might be represented through architecture , galleries , restaurants , boutiques , coffee houses , etc . The point is , without artists , these places would not be the destinations that they are today . These people are spending money and helping the economy . Hearing the tirades of many of the Republican politicians , you would think that artists are a bunch of freeloaders who are draining our economy . If we would start looking at this in a more honest and holistic way , we would realize that the creative population is really at the root of strong economies . People who understand art and design already know this . I would like my artist friends and fans to really think about how to articulate the message of how the arts not only makes our quality of life better , but also helps the economy .
If you ever have a chance to go to Marfa , you can check out what happens when creatives mix with the community . The next time you visit New York City , think about what it would be like if we got rid of the artists or pushed them back . It ’ s a place that was built and developed by people from many places and backgrounds , and many artists have helped make it into the interesting place that is .
photo by Ashley Inguanta
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