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New arts council to focus clout
YOUNGSTOWN — A movement is under way to start an umbrella group that would focus the economic power of the area’s artists and cultural organizations.
About 35 people attended a meeting Monday at Stambaugh Auditorium to get the ball rolling. The structure and goals of the organization were discussed, said Jacob Harver, owner of the Lemon Grove Cafe and one of the forces behind the group.
“We are bringing together individual artists and organizations and ethnic [arts] groups,” said Harver. “At this point, we are gathering all the players together.”
So far, only a few established organizations, such as theaters, are involved. “It’s harder to bring the established groups to the table,” said Harver.
A primary goal of the alliance would be to focus the economic power of the arts and use it to turn around an economically depressed area. One of the first projects will be to do an impact study that would reveal the financial clout of the arts.
Harver pointed to Carson Street on the South Side of Pittsburgh as an example of how arts can revitalize a neighborhood. Once a blue-collar area edged in by steel mills, Carson street began to change when visual artists began setting up studios there. In time, stores and restaurants sprang up. Today, Carson Street is a bustling area, replete with dozens of bars, restaurants, specialty shops, music venues, high-end retail stores and modern housing.
“Artists paved the way for economic development on Carson Street,” said Harver, adding that the same could be done in Youngstown.
“There is a huge talent pool of artists here,” he said.
The organization wouldn’t be limited to Youngstown, although that’s where most of the artists can be found. It would be called Arts and Cultural Alliance of the Mahoning Valley.
The city used to have an umbrella group that united arts and theater groups, but it folded about four years ago because of a lack of interest. Harver said the new group hopes to avoid the mistakes of its predecessor. “We’re trying to learn the lessons of past arts council,” he said.
The Lemon Grove owner said he got the idea to start the council after hearing from artists who expressed the need for such an organization.
The next meeting of the nascent Arts and Cultural Alliance will be Jan. 25 at the Lemon Grove, 122 W. Federal St., downtown. Interested people can get more information by calling Harver at (330) 301-0282 or e-mailing him at jacob@lemongrovecafe.com.
The alliance hopes to continue the work of Power of the Arts, a coalition that had a series of meetings from September to November in the Mahoning Valley. The meetings were led by Becky Keck of SMARTS and Bill Mullane of the Wean Foundation, which funded the effort. The Power of the Arts coalition aimed to harness the economic clout of the arts to revitalize the community.