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

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.