How is the Community Responding to the Creative Space Crisis?
Austin Music and Creative Ecosystem Omnibus Resolution

Infographic 
Mayor Steve Adler introduced the Austin Music and Creative Ecosystem Omnibus Resolution in February 2016 "directing the City Manager to explore options for implementation of the goals and objectives described in the resolution and its Exhibits A and B, including options for consideration of protections for existing studio spaces in the zoning and development process in order to maintain existing spaces." The City Manager is directed to return to City Council in 90 days with a plan of action to address the items related to this Resolution.
 
City staff have been hard at work on the response. On Tuesday, April 26, a draft list of strategies and recommendations was presented at the first ever joint meeting of the Music and Arts Commissions.
Click here for a PDF of the draft document 
 
Staff is continuing to work on this document and will present an expanded version to the City Council Economic Opportunity Committee at their next meeting Monday, May 9, 2:00 pm in City Council Chambers. A presentation to the full Council is expected in June.
map of thinkEAST property
thinkEAST is Taking Shape!

After more than 66 events and activities ranging from workshops to performances and participation from over 2,700 people, thinkEAST's Community Vision and Master Plan is currently being edited and will be made public once complete. Through community and stakeholder feedback, thinkEAST has developed five project pillars: affordability, health, environmental sustainability and open space, education, and arts and culture.

A lot of progress has been made, but there's still much to do before construction can begin on the site! Stay up to date and follow the progress of thinkEAST  
Create Space Austin
Local group working to secure performing space for Austin artists

Create Space Austin logo
The crisis for performance space has reached a fever pitch. Artists are losing their work space at a fast rate and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. So how do we retain space for creatives? That is a question a group of artists are asking. Create Space Austin, headed by Executive Artistic Director of ScriptWorks, Christi Moore, performer/producer Jason Phelps, and director Derek Kolluri, brought a group of artists together to discuss space needs and where to find creative space. Create Space Austin's vision is to link artists to available space whether temporary or permanent.

Their next open forum is May 7, 2pm, at Hyde Park Theatre  - RSVP on Facebook 
 
Read more about Create Space Austin in this Austin Chronicle article by Elizabeth Cobbe
Austin Creative Alliance CEO Report
Turning Austin's Boom into Opportunities for Arts, Culture, and Creativity

Following a series of Creative Sector Summits started in January 2015 to discuss challenges facing cultural industries in Austin, John Riedie, CEO of Austin Creative Alliance, presented  several creative infrastructure proposals to Austin at a public event on April 19.

Read the report here
Reading Corner

CREATIVE SPACE

Maria Rosario Jackson and Florence Kabwasa-Green, The Urban Institute, 2007
Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) commissioned this research by the Urban Institute to identify key lessons from a review of artist space projects in seven U.S. cities: Detroit, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Seattle, and Tucson. This first report explains how advocacy for artist space development is carried out in different realms. The companion report, Artists in Community Revitalization: Artist Space Development and Financing, explores the elements of development and finance of artist space projects, including the role of real estate markets and local systems on artist space developments, special risks and challenges faced, and how they were resolved.

How Cities Are Protecting Small Neighborhood Shops
Next City / Equity Factor, April 25, 2016
A new report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance highlights how skyrocketing commercial rents are threatening local shopkeepers across the country, and what cities are doing about it.

Next City, April 27, 2016
New Orleans-based group of filmmakers, artists, craftspeople and builders has a big vision for independent community arts in the city and beyond. Court 13 Arts, their nonprofit arts engine, is designing a 25,000-square-foot collaborative shop and exhibition space in the city's Eighth Ward.

ARTS EDUCATION

The S.T.E.A.M. Forum / Cambridge Community Foundation, April 22, 2016
A public forum to explore strategies to increase and sustain the flow of high-quality talent to feed the growing innovation economy.

StarTalk, December 2, 2015
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has thought a great deal about the value of the arts. In this short video he extolls the vital importance of arts education coupled with science and shares a discussion he had with Musician David Byrne. That alone makes this video worthwhile to share but then there's Tyson's last comment, "We measure the success of a civilization by how much (long pensive pause where he appears to be searching for the right word up in the sky)...by how well they treat their creative people." 
 


ART MATTERS

Talk Poverty, April 18, 2016

2016 National Endowment on the Arts Jazz Masters Tribute Concert
The NEA honored four individuals for their lifetime achievement in the arts: vibraphonist, bandleader and educator Gary Burton; musicians' advocate Wendy Oxenhorn; saxophonist and composer Pharoah Sanders; and saxophonist, composer and educator Archie Shepp. Webcast also includes musical performances by NEA Jazz Masters Chick Corea, Randy Weston, and Jimmy Heath, as well as Ambrose Akinmusire, Lakecia Benjamin, Billy Harper, Stefon Harris, Justin Kauflin, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Pedrito Martinez, Jason Moran, David Murray, Linda Oh, Karriem Riggins, Roswell Rudd, and Catherine Russell.
Share your ideas for a transformed Palm Park! 

The Waller Creek Conservancy, in partnership with the City of Austin, is actively working to revitalize and transform Austin's Palm Park, in conjunction with a restored Waller Creek parks district.
Through interactive activities and small-group conversations, they want to learn what a vibrant Palm Park looks like to you. Attend a Palm Park Conversation in May:
If would like more information about the City's placemaking and creative industries development initiatives, contact Janet Seibert, Civic Arts Consultant, 512-974-7860.
City of Austin Cultural Arts Division | 512-974-7700 | [email protected] | www.austincreates.com
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