This month marks the end of an era in downtown Tucson-- an era of art, innovation, diversity, and creative energy.
Three galleries on East Congress Street will be closing this week--Dinnerware Artspace, Central Arts Gallery, and Rocket Gallery. A funky coffee shop and a fourth gallery have already closed. Five local businesses -- plus two others-- have been evicted to make way for a sports mega-bar.
These businesses paid rent, hung on through construction and the summertime, and looked forward to the revitalization of downtown. They were the pioneers of revival; they were downtown before anyone else wanted to be.
The galleries and shops in the 200 block of East Congress Street filled once-vacant storefronts and breathed life into downtown by bringing art, fashion, music, and community to a forgotten part of town. They complemented the existing bars, restaurants, movie theaters, and music venues. They will be replaced by yet another large bar-restaurant.
What is our shared vision for downtown Tucson? Do we want a downtown filled with bars, student housing, and parking structures? If we allow the developers to rule downtown, they will chase the quick cash and invest in mini-dorms and bars. People who once came downtown for the art scene will be greeted with restaurants decorated with generic sports bar kitsch.
The artists are not leaving downtown altogether, but they are being pushed to the fringes. Once again they will be moving to a part of Tucson that everyone else has forgotten--the warehouse district. Initially, Dinnerware and others will move to the Citizen's Storage building on East 6th Street. Eventually, artists will occupy the warehouse at 1 East Toole Ave.
In the meantime, Tucsonans who care about downtown must remain vigilant. We must not let the developers and politicians chase the quick fix while short-changing for our culture and our future.
Tucson's vibrant art and music scenes set this city apart from others. Cheap housing and generic sports bars are everywhere.
Comments
This is history being repeated. Talk to those who have been around Tucson for twenty plus years and the same story will be heard. Make room for revitalization, raise the rents, evict the artists. Its a continuing cycle. This time, however, the artists have learned something, self reliance. As one of those being pushed out I say never again. The new situation we are modeling will not allow anyone to have control over our creative spaces. It's no longer going to be left up to the city or developers to determine our destiny. The arts district is not dead yet. We are renovating our own ideals and destinies. Best of luck to Congress street, i will miss you. But the new improved arts district will be better and self sustaining.
Great article Pam. Now, I guess all those artist are going to have to move to the south side. Artist move south, Mexicans get deported and Gentrification continues. I say keep downtown Tucson shety (blocked for inappropriate language.) litter, spray paint, ask 4 spare change, tattoo your last name in your neck and stumble drunk from corner to corner and get in an occasional fight on the weekends. That would teach them never to mess with us.
I agree, Patrick. The first time I saw downtown Tucson in 1981-- Jacome's and Penney's were still on Stone. I also remember when the Arts District was started. There was a string of eclectic shops and galleries on the same strip of Congress. One by one they moved or went out of business.
The warehouses could be a more sustainable location for the artists, but it will take a lot of work. Maybe we could organize painting parties and ask our supporters to help?
One of these days, our city "leaders" will figure out how important artists are to our Tucson community. Meanwhile the art lives on!
Really great article, thank you. The art community has been working so hard for so long, I arrived in Tucson just a few years ago and get to benefit from the vision and persistence. Local artists sharing their knowledge and experience, through this article for example, give me and others an important appreciation and understanding of the scope and duration of the challenge. So I'm a newbie, but I look forward to joining in the continuing effort to bring art into the Tucson mainstream.
I spent many years in Tucson- unless they can do something about the crime that seems to center around the downtown area I would never go back- However, I did always LOVE the Art Galleries and regularly got my hair cut across from the Bus Station- I cant remember the old guys name- but it was CLASSIC!
I also loved to walk the streets at night down there- especially the weekends listening to music floating out of the various clubs and bars- yeah, okay- I miss it now!
I'm puzzled by the last sentence: sports bar bad, affordable housing bad. What is it you want, affluent artists and other upscale residents? That sounds like a fantasy! patrick is right: there is a cycle of attempting to upgrade downtown by displacing folks. How is downtown revitalized by pushing away those that have stayed? We should have room for lower middle income wage earners (really, that's who Tucson is!)artists, and the very few who want to and can afford to live amoung us in snazzy new "spaces." Developers need to stop starting from scratch and work with old downtown (what's left of it!). Ploping that sportsbar downtown is like pouring ketchup on ice cream--a bad idea that will lead to a waste of ketchup and ice cream.
Tracy, the artists cannot afford the new spaces. Central Arts Gallery was paying $600/month for a relatively small storefront.
Re: cheap housing. I should have said cheaply-built housing. The mini-dorms are not low income housing.
This is such an important discussion and unfortunately, it often takes a crisis to get people to act. We can have all of the ideals we want but to make change we have to work together. One of the problems of the Tucson art community is that it is so fragmented.
I am not putting all of the blame on the arts community (I'm part of it). Community development is hard work. I would like to see artists come to the table with developers and elected officials to have these tough conversations. How can downtown Tucson support BOTH artists and development. Is having a Starbucks the ruin of a community? Why does it have to be all or nothing - "shety" as mentioned above or generic chain stores? If we can't agree that downtown can be both of those things (and more), it will always be us vs. them.
Downtown "revitalization" doesn't have to be negative for artists. Let's be innovative and look for new models and paradigms. Let's see this as an opportunity, not another reason to complain.
In answer to the Barber Shop it is still there 65 years(Johnny Gibson retired at 82, his protogee Tom Curly is there everyday except Sunday by appointment)It sits curiously enough along an entire block of what could be a thriving artist community owed by an artist grass roots organization that was displaced by the demolition of the 516 building. Ofcourse any 3000 square feet of space anywhere can't go for $600 a month. Even the Barber Shop pays REAL rent for his space. Didn't notice mention of Firestone Gallery closing along with the Dinnerware consortium did it? And pray tell why did Dinnerware move off Congress in the first place? Wasn't that space one of the COT artist designated low sale price spaces and sold by the non-profit or did the non-profit not actually own the building as indicated it would? Screening room stayed and flurished. From this side of the street I see little interest from artist except for turn key operations at little or no cost to them.
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