Greg Esser, a keynote speaker during the recent Oregon Design Conference, presented this question to his audience: How do our actions impact our community, region, country and world? For Esser, the answer is in public art. He has learned firsthand that public art - and the artists themselves - can play a crucial role in a community's revitalization.
Esser, who earned a bachelor's degree in art and social change from Oberlin College and a master's in fine arts from Arizona State University, led the movement to revitalize the Evans Churchill district in downtown Phoenix. Once a violent, drug-infested section of the city that drew little attention beyond police patrols, the area is now a thriving arts district that hosts regular art walks, festivals and other community events.
The award-winning artist, writer and community development advocate shared with Oregon Architect his thoughts on the role public art plays in community revitalization. Questions and answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: How did you become interested in the connection between art and social change?
A: I studied art in both high school and college, and the focus was primarily on technique and content of the artwork. There was almost no discussion of professional practice or the business aspects of economically supporting yourself as an artist. It became clear to me that the tools and organizations for bringing artwork to audiences were a critical element to understand. That, in turn, led me to explore the role those organizations played in the larger community.
Q: What role does public art play in community development?
A: Malcolm Gladwell writed in The Tipping Point about the impact of the appearance of both public and private space in urban revitalization. Removing graffiti from subway trains in New York was a contributing factor in reducing crime. In the same vein of enhancing and maintaining public space, public art represents a positive investment in an area. Public art helps to indicate that a neighborhood is important, respected and well cared for and that residents are a vital part of the character of the area.
Q: How does public art enhance architecture?
A: Public art is not always successful. Bad public art can ruin good architecture. At other times, public art is sought as a remedy for bad architecture - a bandage. I think the most successful outcomes in public art occur when a visionary artist works in collaboration with a visionary architect or engineer and they both arrive in a place that they would not have without the dynamic interaction.
Q: What role can public art and artists play in revitalization?
A: Artists living and working in a community can have a dramatic positive impact on the revitalization of marginal urban or rural areas, particularly if there is a synergy among a number of separate efforts within walkable proximity. Public art is generally a static investment, not unlike a building. It is the activity and vitality that users bring to a building that give it life and energy.
In the same way, artists bring friends, patrons, other artists and critics into a neighborhood. Artists occupy derelict areas because they have a unique need for large and affordable physical spaces. Old warehouses or former industrial buildings are the perfect canvas for artistic infusion.
Unfortunately, all too often, artists make improvements to real estate as renters. Their efforts benefit property owners and result in increased rents. Groups of artists are typically gentrified out of areas they helped to revitalize.
Q: What would you celebrate as your biggest success in your work to revitalize the Evans Churchill community?
A: One of our biggest successes was unplanned and that is the high percentage of artists that purchased property at a time when it was still accessible. Artists now represent a significant ownership group and that has an impact in development patterns and the flourishing of urban community amenities.
Q: What were your greatest challenges?
A: We still face conflicting agendas about the highest and best use for both specific buildings and for our area in general. We face a significant challenge with the long-term blight of vacant, undeveloped dirt lots throughout our neighborhood. The downturn in the economy adds years to the timeline for the future development of those sites. We need effective short-term solutions for undeveloped private property. As a first step in addressing this challenge, we're launching a community gardening initiative and a Trees First! Campaign to plant shade trees in the right-of-way along vacant parcels.
Q: What lessons or advice can you share?
A: Act first and analyze later. Artists are motivated by different factors than developers and they are much less averse to risk. A pro forma would have stopped us in our tracks before we ever started. In the spirit of Daniel Burnham, I would encourage others to dream big, and as he states, "...aim high in hope and work." Success also requires diligence. A friend and former city manager recently advised that our efforts are "a marathon, not a sprint."
Q: What feedback did you receive during the Oregon Design Conference regarding your presentation and the progress you've made in Phoenix?
A: In spite of our continuing challenges, the story and the role of artists in downtown Phoenix is a positive tale with benchmarks of success. People responded positively to the success and the feedback was encouraging. We hae made progress but we still have much ahead of us.
Q: What did you take away from the conference?
A: The Oregon Design Conference exposed me to a broad group of professionals who had a range of specific suggestions, models and best practices that we have been able to pursue in downtown Phoenix. The depth and range of professional practice in architecture, design and community-building that the conference brought together was a tremendous asset and the interaction was invaluable. I look forward to coming back when it happens again.