Why Artists Should Move To Pittsburgh: Two Posts By Karen Lillis on Pop City

Occasional Diggingpitt contributor, Karen Lillis has a two part piece on Pop City on the things that make Pittsburgh a great place for artists, including a bunch of personal stories.

Part 1

Part 2

I still think a ton of progress needs to be made in opening up and allowing more flexible use of the large studio type buildings artist's need and crave, as well as building a much more supportive city with more connections and interactions with the outside world.

Karen states pretty clearly is that the greater affordability allows artists more time to work. Artists themselves need to put the DYI, energy into making things happen.

More Yinz Links From Cleveburgh And Beyond

Totally insane amount of press and buzz about the Burgh, Youngstown and the wider region. A taste. Looking to jagoff to a sweet Pittsburgh buzz- look at Pop City which compiles almost every positive story and mention of the city worldwide. I try to be a bit more um fair and balanced.

Pittsburgh

Pop City, (Which is actually officially totally awesome now) has a great Q&A with Don Marinelli, Entertainment Technology Center.

"I love Pittsburgh, so long as I can continue traveling the world. I know I want to be buried or have my ashes spread in the Burgh. This is home. I feel one with the Burgh, despite--or perhaps because of-- a ridiculous city government."

He said it--I just made it bold.

Pop City: Impressions of Gay Life in Pittsburgh from a newcomer from San Francisco.

Pop City: Loving life without a car in Pittsburgh.

"One of the things about Pittsburgh," offers Anne-Marie Lubenau, Community Design Center executive director, "is that it's much more European in character. You walk a few blocks, get coffee and a newspaper. Walk a few more blocks and do a little shopping. Walk a few more blocks and be in a great park."

What she really means is it was more "European", convenient and walkable before one bombed the place to drop in masses of highways, garages and surface parking lots.

See my tips on how to destroy a city.

POP City :Rethinking The Allegheny Waterfront.

Ding Dong, The wicked witch of the Mon Fayette Expressway may be finally dead, leaving Tube City to wonder and weep about all the lost time. Also, a must read.

"All of these ideas seem in retrospect somewhat obvious, and you might rightly ask why no one has proposed these kinds of things before.

In fact, many of these ideas have been suggested. But no one was listening."

That's right--I think many of these more realistic,detailed, sensitive and rational plans were put forward by CMU or Pitt students and urban activists and planners in the city and were really never listened to. The knee jerk response was always that these "outsiders" were just against all development or transportation in The Mon Valley. (Even though many, like John Fetterman had invested their lives in the area)

Still, this thing hangs over everyone. Would you buy property along Braddock's main street? Can you be sure it's dead?


Youngstown



I Will Shout Youngstown posts a video about efforts to stabilise a neigborhood called Idora.

Model D in Detroit admires the level of public engagement, forward thinking and planning in Youngstown. Shrinking right: How Youngstown, Ohio, is miles ahead of Detroit.

Inc Magazine does a long, interesting and realistic piece about The Youngstown Business Incubator, Turning Technologies and the struggle to build a startup technology base in the city. A must read! (I will follow up on this)

Akron

May 11 Willie Nelson show postponed due to "torn rotator cuff".


Columbus, Ohio

Columbus Updates Parking Code for Bikes

Cleveland

Ax Falling @ The Plain Dealer

"Advance had warned of the repeal more than six months ago, but Goldberg made it official. A buyout package was offered to dozens of non-union employees. In the newsroom, that includes around 40 editor and manager types — positions spared the axe during a string of reporter layoffs over the last four years."

Be back with more as time allows.

If you have thoughts, events, insight or images you want to share about art, music, film, urban design, architecture, transit or history in the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Youngstown, Erie, Morgantown, Akron, Canton region--Cleveburgh, email me diggingpitt@gmail.com. We can hook you up to post.

This is not Hyper Local media, but regional media seeking local viewpoints.

Yinz links for Sept 5th & 6th

On Gluespace

German Foundation hosts workshops in Detroit & Cleveland on lessons learned in Germany's old industrial regions.

On Brewed Fresh Daily

Jobs aren't coming back

Comparing Cleveland Transit fares to the nation

On Cleveland.Com

Not enough help wanted

How goes the Cleveland Institute Of Art, expansion?

Review Of Chuck Close show @ The Akron Art Museum

In NY Times

36 Hours In Zagreb, Croatia

Scrap Heap Animated Short

Boo Hoo!!!! Famous photographer Ann Leibovitz's financial woes.

In LA Times

A travel trip to Gettysburg

Long Beach Museum Of Art in $3 million dispute with broke local government.

On Culture Grrl

Rose Art Museum's new picture catalog or is it a sales catalog?

Glenn Beck may be right about the Obama administration's meddling in the arts.

In Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Pitt Destroys Youngstown State (sorry)

Attack Theater's new season in a new home

In Pittsburgh Tribune

Penn State Beats Up Akron (sorry)

Monuments honor Western Pennsylvania's industrial roots

On Pop City

Franklin Toker writer of the 1986 classic, Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait is coming out with Pittsburgh: A New Portrait.

On Carnegie Mellon Allumni Reviving Economic Growth: Action Plan for Pittsburgh G20 Summit

This Blog In New York Magazine And Buzz All Around

OK, Pittsburgh is finally having a few moments in the sun- or at least the camera glare. As much as Luke and others might want to take credit for this, the biggest factor is that the city, itself, it's hills, it's vistas, it's colleges, cultural institutions and diverse and often quirky art scene have been worthy of press for sometime. Um the Steelers don't hurt.

But why now? Are there factors at work that make us more interesting now than before? IMHO- Yes.

Here's my little theory.

Factor One: Costs Matter

As awake from the Dot Com bubble and then the bigger housing/consumer debt bubble that replaced it, individuals and small and large businesses are seeing that a new bubble is not coming to fill our wallets. "The New Normal" is about finding prudent rational ways to make the most of what you have. Of course, I've known this was coming for some time-- which is why I invested in an Indian mutual fund riding the outsourcing trend in 1998 and also why I decided to move to Pittsburgh to start a gallery. The world needs places like Pittsburgh and it's looking for them.

This cost push factor, I think also inspired Karen Lillis and many other creative folks to move here or stay after college. Many, sincere hardcore artists like Swoon's crew see that low costs and cheap buildings can offer a freedom they can't have otherwise. Cheap is the secret behind the startups in Youngstown and the major variable that puts the region high on lists of livable places.Even Detroit is finding a price range ($100 for a house) at which it looks good.

Factor Two: Connections Matter

If costs are such a big deal, why has it taken so long for things to catch on?(and they are barely starting)

Great cities are about trade, in skills, in goods and in ideas and that means they can be measured best by the ease at which they are connected internaly and to the world. When I opened my gallery, I quickly realised something big was missing. It was just too hard to make connections here-to link to new people to get news out and especially to get make any links to the outside world. Of course, geography pleyed it's part but something weird and toxic was going on. The Internet wasn't new and Pittsburgh was where a chunk of it's technology was born, so why did so few galleries and institutions like the cultural trust have good websites? Why didn't the tourism bureau or someone- anyone try to at least provide small bare links to the tiny broke galleries and institutions. Why was there no comprehensive online culture guides? Why was there no printed gallery and Museum Guide? A lot of money was being spent, so that wasn't the reason. It had to be something cultural.

Since then, a rapid and significant bursting of blogs, guides, wiki-pages and web magazines has taken place that has helped Pittsburgh artists, writers and filmmakers tell their story to the wider world and link better to each other.

So now things are starting to pay off. Thanks to Blogs like I Heart Pittsburgh, This blog and Bittersweet Harvest as well as great online newsletters like POP City, it's now much easier to find out what's going on where which is helping generate more out of town press coverage that goes beyond a few major events and attractions.

May's New York Magazine arts travel story, mentioned both POP City, this blog and The Original (which I hadn't heard of!) as sources of info.

Factor Three: Diaspora's can help

I won't go into it but the fact that Yinzer nation is so huge and spread across the globe hasn't hurt too much. A lot of people- are secretly pulling for or at least curious about their old hometown. Not all will move back but that dosn't mean that are not usefull. Any inventory of Pittsburgh's assets has to account for them.

Will get back with more thoughts and stuff about recent Burgh Buzz.

Braddock Mayor, John Fetterman On You Tube

Pop City posted a nice video interview with Braddock's mayor, John Fetterman.

Craft Congress in Pittsburgh

It's not too late -- you too can come to lovely Pittsburgh for the first ever Craft Congress. The Craft Congress has been organized by Handmade Arcade and will take place March 31 - April 1 at Spinning Plates. Information here.

The Pop City article mentions that some crafters have had their ideas lifted by national manufacturers, without acknowledgement or compensation. The congress invites organizers of craft fairs and artists' websites to Pittsburgh to discuss such issues.

The Craft fair has been getting some press locally and nationally in Bust magazine. A number of crafter blogs have been talking about the congress for a few months. Craft revolution has a recent post that lists some of the attendees, who are coming from all over the United States to Pittsburgh. In the article, they quote organizer Gloria Forouzan--

“The goal of Craft Congress is to build connections between the movement's organizers, who have been working to expand the craft culture primarily in their own communities. Craft Congress is an original concept; attendees will have the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience, creating a network that will foster sustainability.”

This is a wonderful idea and I am glad that this event is taking place in Pittsburgh.