Art in Ruins

February 7, 2004 2:04 AM

Art In Ruins chronicles the economic and cultural transformation of Providence, Rhode Island through the eyes of artists, architects, and urban planners.
posted by PrinceValium (3 comments total)

A personal note: I saw much of this in action as an undergraduate at Brown in the late 90s, during the peak of the urban renewal initiative led by the now-jailed mayor Buddy Cianci. I now spend my weekends in what is somewhat optimistically called the Downcity Arts District, where my fiance lives and studies as an artist. (She is not involved with the Ruins project.) Living there is a somewhat awkward immersion in the realities of transitional downtown development. How do you keep an influx of relative newbies - tourists, suburbanites, artists, and college students - while preserving the cultural essence of a beautiful city? In other words, how can a city be persuaded to develop smart, rather than develop fast?
posted by PrinceValium at 2:21 AM on February 7, 2004

Good question :) I've watched the Olneyville evictions pretty closely, lately, as I had friends who lived in boath the Pink Rabbit and 244 Oak. It's been pretty crazy. One of them is now couch surfing, the other had to go to New Hampshire. Those places were *the* best venues this city had for shows, they weren't bothering anyone. All thats left now is the living room, safari lounge, and AS220. Hmm. At the rate this is going I probably won't be staying here after I graduate RISD.
posted by atom128 at 7:42 AM on February 7, 2004

Wow, thanks for this. It brings back memories of walking through the abandoned train tunnel in a malt liquor haze during my RISD years.
posted by machaus at 7:42 AM on February 7, 2004