Milwaukee's East Side has certainly had a reputation as being a hub of culture and creative activity for decades, but as real estate prices in the area continue to rise as a result of all the redevelopment, many artists, art groups and art-related businesses are flocking to other "arty" parts of town, where the cost of studio spaces look a little friendlier.
As neighborhoods like Riverwest, Bay View and Walker's Point continue to attract the "creative economy," will the East Side be able to sustain its art community?
To address the issue of artists and arts type businesses finding it harder and harder to work or own space on the East Side, the East Side Business Improvement District (BID) No. 20 has embarked on a project -- the East Side arts incubator -- that would potentially make the East Side a year-round arts destination.
Earlier this year, the BID applied for and was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce to study the feasibility of establishing an Arts Incubator on the East Side.
Jim Plaisted, the executive director for the East Side Association, says that implementing an arts incubator makes sense and would help the BID and the East Side Association achieve their goals of promoting the, "conscientious development of an enhanced business district designed for people looking for a dynamic place to live, work, shop and relax."
"With the new presence of the Peck School of the Arts in the new Kenilworth Building -- a 500,000-sq. ft. structure that will also house retail space, art galleries and student housing -- and continued success of the Milwaukee International Film Festival, we are hoping that we can reposition the East Side as another emerging artists communities in the Milwaukee," says Plaisted. "An incubator could provide that focus for arts in the community and hopefully train artists to be successful once they leave the program."
Arts incubators have proven successful in cities such as Chicago, Washington D.C. and New Orleans. Based on the business Incubator model, arts incubators provide inexpensive spaces, technical support and business development services to emerging artists, arts groups, and arts-related businesses.
Residents and members of the Incubator would be supplied with spaces for studios, galleries, performances and businesses, as well as limited-term residency programs, business development programs and neighborhood art programs, including exhibitions, performances, classes and workshops, artist-in-residence programs.
But, it's not forever. Like the loving and watchful guide of a parental figure, arts incubators help to grow and stabilize young, creative ventures knowing that one day they will have to survive on their own. After a period of time, successful artists and businesses "graduate" back into the neighborhood, helping to build a critical mass for creative culture in the area.
According to Plaisted, arts incubators also often provide direct economic benefits to their neighborhoods. Visual and performing art ventures draw patrons to the neighborhood for events like exhibitions, performances, art classes, business workshops and facility tours and, subsequently, into other local businesses as well.
"An enhanced arts presence in the neighborhood continues our progress on creating a 24-hour district for everyone. We hope that the incubator also can successfully interact with residents and area businesses in a positive way."
A major study sponsored by the Americans for the Arts concluded that on a national level, the arts generated $134 billion in direct spending in 2004, supported nearly five million full-time equivalent jobs and produced more than $24 billion in government revenue. In Milwaukee, they estimated that non-profit arts organizations produced nearly $80 million in household income and over 2,800 full-time equivalent jobs.
In general, arts incubators are non-profit entities, and now that the feasibility study is complete, Plaisted says the steering committee is working on finding an appropriate "owner" of the incubator and securing the real estate.
"The owner could be an existing non-profit or one created to run the facility. It will not be owned and operated by the BID. We are acting as the 'catalyst' to make this happen."
There is a link to the East Side arts incubator project on the East Side Association's Web site at theeastside.org.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
