VILLAGE TOWNS INVESTS IN AND SUPPORTS ITS CREATIVE CLASS

Artist Guild Halls

 

The VillageTown invests in its Creative Class to attract the best, and then assure it never gentrifies them out. It does this by investing in what is called the Artist Guild Hall, a professional facility on the Village Plaza that provides work space for a group of 25 artists who share a common art. It also invests in free-base housing for the guild members.

By providing space, lowering the cost of living and creating a critical mass of creative artists, the guild members have a stronger opportunity to practice their art and earn enough that they need not take other menial work to pay the bills.

The VillageTown works with its future residents to identify a good mix of guilds. It then searches broadly to find the right mix of artists. It favors three levels of arts - the senior masters, the emerging, and the young. In this way, over time, the artists develop, and there is a gradual movement of members as the elders retire and younger ones take their place.

The VillageTown seeks cultural enrichment that comes by having creative and performing artists and members of what is called the Creative Class.The problem with attracting such creative people comes with what is called gentrification - by making the place so attractive that the artists get priced out of the market and the place becomes bland. To overcome this, the VillageTown proposes to do two things:

1. On most plazas to fund and build an Artists Guild Hall paid for by the organizing company but managed by the guild united by their members' art and commitment to its success
2. Provide free-base housing for Guild Hall members.

The Guild Hall - A large building with the amenities required by the artists, with visitor accommodations to provide an income for the guild to cover building costs and with classrooms for primary and secondary school children. Each guild hall is expected to address a different sector of the arts and creative class. One may be for actors, another musicians and a third for inventors or scientists. These creators are expected to be professionals for whom it is hoped the guild hall is a dream come true. There will be no mortgage on the building, no debt to service. When the guild artists have assembled and formed themselves as a group, they will make a series of decisions about what they need. For example, actors may need a stage, rehearsal facilities, perhaps even a recording studio. In addition, they will make decisions about governance of their organisation, addressing issues regarding day to day management, but also how to keep it fresh and how to rotate and retire members so it endures and thrives for decades. The artists will be encouraged to feature their work and supported to enable them to devote more (hopefully full) time to their art, not having to work at a labour job due to insufficient income through the arts. Festivals will be encouraged, as will be collaboration to make the village a place visitors come to discover and enjoy cultural excellence. In the performing arts, one may find one plaza with actors, and the next with film-makers and a third with musicians... all of whom collaborate to make movies, for example. In a village of 500, the Guild Hall may host say 25 artists or 5% of the community. By setting the guild hall on the plaza, it will set a particular tone for that village's life.

Parallel Housing - In the surrounding neighbourhood of primary and secondary pedestrian streets, the guild members will be provided with rent-free housing called free-base flats. If a member wishes to buy a conventional home, they may do so, and may rent out the flat and keep the income to assist with their living expenses so they may focus on their art. It's not "free" in the sense that the community is expecting them to pursue their art. It is de-monetized and much more the way art is supported in tribal cultures where artists are held in high regard, and taken care of by the rest of the community.

The Economics of Art - By lowering the cost of living, and by providing both the infrastructure and attracting a critical mass of artists to attract more patrons and buyers, the economic conditions should enable proficient members of the creative class to make a living. However, there are no guarantees, and as always, the artists must work as entrepreneurs where success or failure is based on their talent, skill and market conditions.

Theater of Life - The plazas can be expected to be more dynamic places, with a wider range of personalities.  Of course, some folks worry about the hystronics and drama that sometimes seems to accompany artists. Will they produce "good" art, will they get too comfortable and go stale? The system of checks and balances in the VillageTown should be able to deal with a guild that totally fails, but the lesser concerns about art controversy is regarded as the theater of life, and part of what makes village life interesting.  One of the roles of art in society is to hold up a mirror and show us that which we otherwise may not see. Work it out is the best advice... and don't take life too seriously. 

A Village Town in Eastern Missouri would have all the culture of some of the great cities of the world, but in a rural setting and the security of true community.  If you are interested in putting one together, write me.