Can Art Change the World?

Another post on Art and Creativity.

One of my pet themes that I am trying to research is what is the link between art, creativity and regeneration?

• Is it something that needs the local government to sponsor, or is it something that springs up and grows gradually? Or both?
• Does a place that has lots of creativity going on always end up having the middle classes come in and push the poor out?
• What does it mean to the average person to live in an area where creativity flourishes?
• Do we need to do anything proactive, like create the conditions where creative people (from someone who enjoys knitting, through to professionals) can meet and share?
• Would we like studio spaces in Armley? (I know I would)
• We have already witnessed a quirky brand of Artiness developing here, from the I Love West Leeds Fesitival, to the Marvellous Tea Dances, to The Charming Armley Calendar, Jam Up the Back Passage, Interplay Theatre, Rock and Roll Circus Recording Studios and Venues.
• What more could there be? (Use the contested Regeneration Billboard as a changing canvas, have a competition to design the best public toilets, empty retail units as gallery spaces and studios, Charlie Cake Park Parades, Urban Picnics???)
  
• Should we meet and find out what we could do if we put our heads together in a venue with drinks and chow?

Please email or comment jamsiren@thearmleytouristboard.com

Where else has this worked?
Bilbao
Chapel A? Click here to see Chapel A referred to as a case study in a book about global gentrification (However if you do a search on books containing C A they only get 76, Armley has 252!!- Thanks to Barbara, Alan and Peter Robinson!
Where else?

Links to the right- How Folkstone is rebuilding itself with the help of money, art and lots of vision, but from the Ground UP

What makes Armley what it is?

I know I bang on about Armley being full of amazingly creative people, but is it true?
Just cos I know a couple does that make it so?

The other day in conversation a person residing in Beeston told me that Armley was about as creative as a sh*t sandwich (sounds like something you could get funding for if you filmed the process).

They referred to the Armley they knew, which was a bit clichéd but basically went:
There is a dogging carpark near the Armley Mills Museum, it has a history of asbestos and cancer, a big roundabout, lots of chavs, dead people dumped near the dogging spot, a jail, E-Coli food poisoning.

None of the lovely things of Armley came to mind, well why would they?

So what is Armley all about? Who lives here? Where do you think it is going? All the Estate Agents boast about it being 'Up and Coming' is this true?

Regeneration of Armley Town St

Gentrification pushes out the poor for the benefit of the rich. Not many can argue against that. I want the working class of Armley to stick around and not become the latest victims of the insatiable developers of Leeds.
However, if there is some happy medium that could enrich the area and modernise the facilities I gotta say I would vote for that.
As a business graduate I would offer the following mildly cynical thoughts with a sprinkling of optimism on the side.

• There's not enough footfall on Armley Town St to attract businesses of a certain calibre, i.e. low margin, high volume, branded goods
• There's not enough branded goods to attract footfall (it's a cruel world)
• The traffic links suck
• There's no-where near enough parking to facilitate points 1 or 2
• There's not enough of point 1 to improve point 3 (is it getting any clearer?)

Ok, we live in a transport dominated world. Armley may have been a thriving local town but it's now handicapped in so many ways that it needs a very brave local government decision to foster any kind of progress.

As I have indicated this must start with a car park and I imagine the council would be unwilling to invest in that without a fairly major independent business signed up to open premises in the vicinity. I thought Somerfield might have been the catalyst for that until I realised they already owned Kwik Save and it was just a re-branding exercise.

Secondly, I'm not a fan of buses but places like Headingley, Hyde Park and Cross Gates have scores of bus routes going through them as hubs. Armley Town St has basically two, the 16 and the 5. All the other buses through West Leeds stay on the Stanningley Bypass. Yes it's not far away but it's a significant distance. Why do you think Tesco Express put up shop there?

They basically need to turn Armley Town St round to face the bypass and build a big car park in front of it.

There, all sorted...

Nick (grecian.blogspot.com)

ps - boycott Tesco Express for putting in self service tills, or at least refuse to use them and create big queues.

Is this really a grown up sister site?

An open apology.

It's hard sometimes to be clear about your motives, and recently I have questioned mine.
Just because people are busy and active does not mean that they don't care.
Having a blog site and an ego = BAD KARMA!

So without being too cryptic, I just want to say that I do think all of the people currently trying to make a real difference to Armley need to be acknowledged for their contribution. In my ivory tower world, I would love that there was one place where all of those people could share what they are doing, no matter how or what they do. I don't know if this is the space to do it, and appreciate not many have the time to write Internet blogs.

I am sorry if I have hectored, cajoled or tried to frog march anyone into a 'regeneration' parade. That was certainly not what I would have wanted.

So perhaps a bit of patience, and breathing space is required. Please feel free to let me know if you think this is a useful way of communicating to a growing audience of other Armleyites, or if you would like to have a meet in a pub over drinks where we make connections that may or may not lead to anything other than a nice conversation with someone new.

Or if you already write and would like others to know about it, send a link.

This town is coming like a Ghost Town

Armley Town Street is in the worst state of decline and fast becoming a ghost town

Yesterday the retail space we hoped could be a catalyst for positive change for Armley went the way of other clone towns, and was granted permission to become a super large betting establishment. Who am I to complain, surely we all need a massive space to go place our bets on Grand National, I never did care to do it in the smokey, cramped space next door to Todd's really and always choose to go into town to the more 'plush' establishments. (Whatever- there are some interesting rumours floating around as to why Done's felt it necessary to buy a space worth over £300k.....)

Still what do we care, we've got a Tescos, Morrisons and all the supermarkets we could want. Why would we want to go to town street and rub shoulders with the people who shop on Town Street anyway. Surely the only reason they do is because they don't have cars and they have no choice and are therefore, POOR?

Okay I know that there are some very good charity shops and some fantastic independent retailers, lets be less dramatic and a bit more realistic. We have lots of lovely hairdressers, tanning Emporiums, sandwich shops, a soon to be Coral's Betting Establishment too, and nestling amongst the typical high street clones are some fab shops such as the Ski Shop, Skeltons, the highly regared Community Shop, The Shop that sells Cake making stuff, Mikes Carpets! and 2 lovely florists. We even have a new enterprising Eastern European Food Shop just openedn as Armley apparently has a very high Polish and Russian population.

But who would seriously want to take a risk currently and invest their blood sweat and tears and open something new in Armley? The Thai Cafe came and went (J N R) As did Point Break, which became Bar Ropa, then Fuzzy's then had it's windows caved in and boarded them up and left.

We want to know what are the conditions that make a place ripe for positive change? I would not want Armley to become a Chapel Alllerton, but what was it about CA that helped it pull itself up from its bootstraps to become the home of Yummy Mummys and young working profs with cash to splash in a plethora of bars, restuarants and antique boutiques?

I am not for gentrification, I am for creativity and how the wealth of wonderful creative people in Armley could do something different, and help bring some pride back.

Over and OUT it's over to you. Please dont let me be the lone voice of pontification, even if you just want to argue with me, please do. Anyone can have a log in and post on this blog whenever they want to get their opinion of Armley heard. If I am a lone voice then I will be even more depressed than I currently feel.

Our Collective Soapbox

Don't be alarmed that this post is not in the normal jovial tone that the Armley Tourist Board fosters. This may be a bit serious in it's mission but we want YOU, yes YOU the people of Armley to use this site a bit more.

In the current absence of a community forum like the great Cops and Robbers site we are hopping that you will contact us to being given admin rights to post away about the matters closest to your Armley HEARTS

What would you get on a soapbox about in Armley. Use this blog to GET ON IT and let us know- have your own LOG IN and publish your thoughts PLEASE. We all need to Act, and more people will come to the fore to create momentum if we realise that our passions are not just isolated whinges and gripes. AM I ALONE HERE?

My own personal soapbox is about the attempt to stop Todds being butchered as a bookies.
All joking aside, this has nothing to do with my moral stance and everything to do with how Armley and it's people have a community shopping centre that is diverse, creates employment, economic growth and meets the needs of a socially and economically deprived community.

Perhaps I am wrong but I think we should all have a say about how Armley Town Street develops?

The planners summarise that the application to change the shop from a prime retail outlet to a dubious 'service' does not 'impact significantly upon the viability and vitality of Armley Town Street to warrant refusal' (page 148)

So what does this mean with regards viability and vitality? The applicants state that there will be no further employment created by this change of location. They must anticipate an increased spend in their shop to warrant investing the money in buying the premises. So will we see the dividends locally? Most unlikely, as Betfred is a national chain of bookmakers with a head office elsewhere. Who will spend more time in the betting office? The young and old of Armley, those who used to use the butchers? HARDLY, it will just provide a bigger space for a small minority of our community.

What about businesses thinking of investing in Armley, what would you think coming along the road, seeing empty shops, charity shops, bookies, cash converters, etc. Granted we still have some thriving independent shops which are fab, we want to have more of them. Allowing this to happen sends a pessimistic signal that ARMLEY TOWN STREET has no future strategy. Not one which links to regeneration anyway, as this application would be thrown out if there was. Given a choice between setting up in a high street where there are signs of growth or one where more shops shut on a daily basis, where would a sensible business person place their future livlihood?

Given that the viability and vitality of Armley Town Street is possibly at it's most desperate in many years with so many empty shops etc how can it's impact be worse than we already have?
The reactive thinking could be that 'Surely something is better than nothing in that space'?
Well unless we have an alternative to go there perhaps we should count our blessings then! Thank goodness we can have a bookies, which will never leave that space, demand in deprived areas will never abate for bookies will it?

Or perhaps we can think about ways in which we can mobilise ourselves to help the viability and vitality of Armley? How about providing incentives for entrepreneurial retailers to use currently under occupied units? Or whilst they are empty and sad offering the space for artists to animate them, create a feel good factor and draw people from outside.

If there was a real viable alternative to Done/Betfred's buying our once busy high street butchers then perhaps we could ask the owners to grant a stay of execution and not close the deal. Do YOU know anyone who might wish to have a business in that premise?

If you can get along to the planning meeting and show your support please do. Forward this to anyone who gives a shit. But this is not the end of this, if you do care about Armley's future why not share your sentiments and wear your heart on your sleeve, let's collaborate a bit more!

Off the soap box, over to you. If I dont hear from anyone, I will go back to flippant Lady Mayoress and rest the hectoring!
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I have the following PDF's available for anyone interested
Armley Town Centre Action Plan 2004
Research on the Social Impact of Gambling
High Street Britain 2015