First Fridays' Christina Newton responds to the city's proposal for an arts and culture district (unedited version) here.
And... the city takes a step in the arts district direction here- there is much debate about whether this step is big enough, headed in the right direction, etc. (Check out the article's comments.)
It is unfortunate that the city would seemingly ignore important components of the Cultural Task Force's plans: primarily the implementation of specific financial incentives for arts businesses within the proposed cultural district.
The renovation of the Morton building sounds good, but I have to wonder who it's going to attract. Will there be financial incentives and assistance for artists to live there like those offered by DC's Cultural Development Corporation? I'd like to read something where a bunch of opinions of artists who already live downtown are spotlighted. What DO artists think of all of this?
A year ago when CultureWorks brought Theresa Cameron to town to talk to interested parties about planning for arts and culture districts, I was wondering the same thing. What do Richmond's artists want?
