placemaking

CAN ARTS AND CULTURE MAKE A SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC
DIFFERENCE IN RURAL AMERICA?
With leadership from the National Endowment for the Arts and
a consortium of national philanthropies (i.e. ArtPlace America),
many rural communities are exploring strategies that use arts
and culture as new economic drivers to revitalize their towns.
(-^)
Children
participating in the
Ajo Plaza Festival
in Ajo, Arizona.
PHOTO BY
JEWEL CLEARWATER,
ISDA
From Haines, Alaska, to Blue River, California, and Ajo, Arizona,
from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, to Wilson, North Carolina,
Whitesburg, Kentucky, and Eastport, Maine—local leaders,
citizens, nonprofits, community foundations, and elected officials
are exploring new approaches to revitalizing their towns. Some
are working to attract new artists, entrepreneurs, rural-based
teleworkers, boomer retirees, and millennial “creatives.” Others
are identifying and building on local assets, restoring Main Street
buildings and performance venues, and nurturing local theaters
and homegrown bands. The challenge for leaders in this new field
of creative placemaking is to combine these efforts to create
economic vitality without losing local authenticity.
HOW TO DO CREATIVE PLACEMAKING • 61