The Road through the Rust Belt: From Preeminence to Decline to Prosperity

6 - Distinctly Cleveland: How the Arts are Helping to Revitalize Rust Belt Cities

123 6 Distinctly Cleveland How the Arts are Helping to Revitalize Rust Belt Cities Gregory M. Sadlek Joan Chase Cleveland State University Faced with the decline of the traditional manufacturing-based economic engine, a handful of fading Rust Belt cities turned to the arts as a means for revitalizing their local economies. Among them is Cleveland, a city known for its rich cultural heritage. While the arts may not replace the number of high-wage factory jobs lost in manufacturing, it does offer different types of benefits related to quality-of-life that help redefine a community’s concept of prosperity. Downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, was once in decline. Hurt by international competition, its manufacturing plants were closing, and, at the same time, residents began moving out of the city to the suburbs . In the mid-1990s the situation started to change, and the turning point seemed to be the opening of the Van Andel Arena in the middle of downtown (Thompson 2006). Civic leaders, however, realized that revitalization was not simply a matter of constructing large public buildings; they needed a grand strategy to draw people back into the core of the city. In 2005, under the leadership of Urban Marketing Collaborative, a new “Arts and Entertainment Strategy: Downtown Grand Rapids” report was created (Urban Marketing Collaborative 2005). The vision captured in this document called for Grand Rapids to capitalize on “its growing reputation as a destination arts and entertainment area” (p. 1). It would have three distinct arts “attitude districts,” interconnected but Bowen.indb 123 Bowen.indb 123 12/16/2013 2:14:05 PM 12/16/2013 2:14:05 PM 124 Sadlek and Chase distinct, that would draw audiences and enable them to be immersed in a vibrant city core containing a broad cross section of arts. The values reflected in this large arts district were to be “diversity, eclecticism, urbanity, sophistication, high culture,” and it would become “a living laboratory to experiment, explore, learn and share” (p. 2). Although the document called for better marketing and promotion efforts, no mention was made of what would become one of the most important revitalization tools of Grand Rapids: the annual fall ArtPrize contest. Created in 2009 by Rick DeVos, grandson of Amway founder Rich DeVos, this contest annually transforms downtown Grand Rapids into a living museum of art. But the distinguishing feature is that the substantial prizes, until recently, were awarded not by professional art critics, but by the visiting public.1 In 2011, the festival drew approximately 322,000 visitors, who experienced the works of 1,580 artists in 162 separate venues (Linn 2012). The payoff to the city is the financial boost given by the visitors to the community. A study by Anderson Economic Group (2011) of East Lansing, Michigan, estimates that the 2011 ArtPrize competition added $15.4 million to the local economy. In addition, the Detroit Free Press reports that the competition has been so successful that it is now being copied in such cities as Akron, New York, and Los Angeles (Stryker 2012). Clearly, the arts strategy envisioned in the 2005 strategic plan has succeeded in a significant way, and it presents a model of urban revitalization for other midwestern Rust Belt cities. Milwaukee is also steeped in a manufacturing heritage but is now counting on the arts to develop a new economic future. The Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee spearheaded the creation of a regional arts economic development strategy, entitled Creativity Works! The approach focuses on design, performing arts, visual arts, media and film, and culture and heritage organizations (Creative Alliance Milwaukee , n.d.). The Milwaukee region possesses a strong concentration of creative workers and hopes to leverage this advantage through four arts-based initiatives. The steps include growing the creative industries, expanding the local creative talent base, developing sustainable infrastructure for creative industries, and fostering leadership systems to integrate these industries (Creative Alliance Milwaukee 2011a). A recent redevelopment effort that followed the strategy developed in Creativity Works! occurred when Milwaukee launched an innovaBowen .indb 124 Bowen.indb 124 12/16/2013 2:14:06 PM 12/16/2013 2:14:06 PM Distinctly Cleveland 125 tive program to animate a faltering retail space. The Shops at Grand Avenue in downtown Milwaukee were “dedicated to presenting quality creatives and small business owners a place in which to teach, work, perform, and exhibit their work” (Creative Alliance Milwaukee 2011b). This...