September 16-22, 2004

cover story

You've Gotta Have More Art

Creative Artists: Bring Your Talent to Philly. Illustration By: Randall Sellers

If we only had: More Artists

by Susan Hagen

From the commonwealth's earliest days, artists and craftsmen were coveted commodities. Both William Penn and Benjamin Franklin extolled the virtues of attracting artists and craftsmen to the region, says Winterthur Museum curator emeritus and adjunct professor Charles Hummel.

More recently, marketing campaigns have focused on Philadelphia arts organizations and cultural tourists, but why not market to artists as well?

Why do we want them?

According to a March study, "The Artistic Dividend Revisited," by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, artists play a vital role in a region's economy. More than the simple tabulation of their receipts, artists contribute to urban renewal, revitalizing rundown properties (and eventually pricing themselves out of the neighborhood — think SOHO). Philadelphia, whose artist population is merely average on a per-capita basis, could do a much better job in marketing itself as an advantageous place for artists to live and work. When I moved here as a young artist in 1984, Philly was gritty, but you could live cheap, rent a studio cheap and not have to work three jobs. Plus, as everyone said then, "It's close to New York." Now, there are a few more perks.

What do we have to offer?

Philadelphia's got a wealth of exhibition opportunities, with 200-plus established galleries and nonprofit spaces, and terrific informal exhibition spaces — including a few local bars — crop up all the time. Our post-industrial city is loaded with materials ripe for recycling and Dumpsters waiting for intrepid divers; plus the Fairmount Park wood dump is a great source of free wood. We've got art supply stores for all tastes, plus Jewelers Row for metalworkers, South Fourth Street for fiber artists, and much more.

The city has a large number of media-based arts organizations that provide information and opportunities to artists, and dozens of colleges and art centers offer workshops and career-advancement programs for artists.

Philadelphia holds its own in grants and public-art support for artists, thanks to the efforts of the Pew Fellowships in the Arts, Leeway (for women artists only), the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Independence Foundation Fellowships in the Arts. Public art is funded by Percent for Art, the Fairmount Park Art Association and the Mural Arts Program.

With an estimated 3,000 individuals (according to Pew's Melissa Franklin) out of six million people living in the Greater Philadelphia area calling themselves visual artists, you can easily fall into a community of like-minded artists. Form a movement, write a manifesto, or just hang out and argue.

Studio rents are very reasonable compared to New York, L.A. and San Francisco. Though Northern Liberties, Fishtown and Kensington are currently the peak of cool, every part of the city brags of its own enclave of artists. South Philly is packed with 'em; West Philly, Fairmount, Manayunk and Germantown all have plenty as well.

Artists looking for day jobs (before they hit the big time) can often pick up adjunct teaching or staff gigs at one of dozens of colleges and art centers in the area, or snag jobs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) or other art-related work. Check out the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance's job bank. Plus, there's lots of restaurant jobs. No matter what you end up doing to make ends meet, the low cost of living in Philly means you can work less at your day job and more in your studio.

And of course, with institutions such as the PMA and the Barnes Foundation, among others, there's plenty of great art to look at.

What more can be done?

We're still close to New York, a perk that has a flip side: Some theorize that our proximity to New York encourages Philadelphia collectors to think global and buy global. Out of the thousands of artists currently working here, a discerning collector could find a lot to love: international celebrities, Whitney Biennal alums and up-and-coming artists; traditionalists and hipsters; craft artists, conceptual artists, painters, sculptors, photographers and everything in between. A larger base of committed collectors would be a big draw to any artist considering relocating to Philly.

Another downside is the tax situation for local artists. Artists must apply for a business license from the city and pay annual business privilege taxes, even if they're not selling anything. If you are making money, you have to pay estimated city, state and federal income taxes every quarter — or face back taxes and penalties.

Creative solutions exist. For the past 30 years Mexico has allowed artists to pay their tax bills with art. Ireland offers an artist's exemption on all income produced from artwork. Rhode Island started an innovative tax program six years ago that exempts art made or sold in designated arts-and-culture zones from state sales tax, and exempts artists from state income tax on work made in the districts.

A four-step plan: First, we need to simplify the business start-up process for artists: offer tax breaks to low-income artists, and abatements for real estate development, studio rent and improvements. We need city government to recognize artists' contributions to the city's economy and infrastructure — not to mention cultural life.

Second, organize a cooperative of artists to provide group health insurance, advertise studio rentals, connect members of the community for collaborations and offer employment opportunities and publicity. David Thornburgh, executive director of the Pennsylvania Economy League, Eastern Division, suggests a nonprofit structure and possible affiliation with a larger organization.

Third, offer incentives to local corporations to commission site-specific artworks and develop corporate collections that feature local artists. Helping artists helps business (see Charlotte sidebar) and, according to economic development expert Richard Florida, helps attract the coveted "creative class."

And fourth, educate local, national and international collectors about Philadelphia artists by producing documentary films on local artists, offering advertising rebates to galleries that feature local artists, and publishing a biannual guide to Philadelphia artists. Becky Hannum of Bank of America (the Charlotte art scene's largest corporate supporter) says this sort of promotion is "the biggest challenge and opportunity. Any ideas in this area should be tried " with a three-year minimum so they can be measured."

Imagine the campaign:

"We need to package and promote what's here," John Claypool, executive director of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects, advises. Print ads could feature documentary photographs of Philadelphia artists, short bios, and the invitation: "Creative Artists: Bring Your Talent to Philly!" TV ads will combine close-up and slow-motion shots of artists at work, set to heroic or hip music. Radio spots will have music, heavy breathing, hammering, etc. Philadelphia's perks will be described — along with any or all of the above innovations.

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Good Vibrations in Charlotte

The city of Charlotte, N.C., has spent the last decade or so energetically building its cultural community and creating a positive environment for artists. The population of the metro area is currently 2.2 million, double what it was 10 years ago. Charlotte, the second-largest financial center in the country behind New York, is the home base of Bank of America, which contributes generously to local arts. In fact, the bank funded 25 downtown public art projects between 1997 and 2001. Becky Hannum, vice president and director of the corporate art program at Bank of America, explained that cities have started to realize that "their cultural richness matters a great deal to businesses seeking to attract and relocate professionals. Thanks to a variety of recent workplace surveys, companies that invest in art as a part of the workplace environment have become more aware of how much it matters to their associates."

Other businesses, the city, foundations and organizations have also worked to spur the growth of the arts in Charlotte. The 1 Percent for Art program commissions public art for city/county construction projects and the Arts & Sciences Council raises funds, like United Way, from employee payroll deductions to support arts organizations. Charlotte Center City Partners market the arts and highlight local artists in annual festivals such as Charlotte Shout 2004 and Avenue of the Arts. They also helped implement a free shuttle-bus system connecting attractions and cultural-arts venues, such as the new Mint Museum of Craft + Design and the McColl Center for Visual Art. McColl presents exhibitions, lectures and community projects and administers a residency program with several subsidized studio spaces for local artists. The city is home to dozens of commercial art galleries and a weekly arts-and-culture newspaper, Creative Loafing.

Charlotte's exuberant support of the arts has encouraged the development of a population of artists (numerically smaller than Philadelphia's, but more concentrated), based mainly in studios along North Davidson Street. Philadelphia employs many of the same tactics. What makes it work in Charlotte?

"Unofficially, I'd say it's the corporate support of the arts in our community that brings artists here," says Stacey Corbin Ellis of the Charlotte Chamber. "We have the highest per capita giving to the arts of any city in the nation. When an artist sees that, I'd imagine it would play a factor in his/her decision to work in Charlotte. While community and quality of life are certainly important, they're less relevant if the artist can't make a living."

Bank of America is enormous in proportion to the population of Charlotte, and its impact on the local arts scene is huge. Philadelphia has no local corporation or business that comes close, although some Charlotteans, such as McColl Center President Suzanne Fetscher, worry that the city still hasn't developed a strong enough support system to keep artists there for the long term. She, and many others I spoke to, feel there's still much to be done. To match their dedication here would take some organizing.