I would like to utilize this week’s assignment as an opportunity to establish a flexible structure that I would like the remainder of my fellowship research to loosely follow. Since I was not able to revisit with Loisaida’s program director this week, after realizing that a change in direction of my research might be necessary going forward, I would like for this post to simply be a first draft of my project outline, which I would like to update on this upcoming Monday (July 16th) as a more finalized version after further discussion with the center’s directors.
Firstly, I would like to shift my focus from the history of community gardens and garden activists toward a more large scale discussion of affordable housing, specifically NYCHA housing, and its relationship with Loisaida as a neighborhood (ie: the way that one and another impact and shape one another, how that relationship has evolved in the aftermath of gentrification, the challenges that Loisaidans living in NYCHA housing face versus problems that NYCHA as an entirety is encountering today, the overall demographic makeup of the residents, a brief history of the sites that are active today, etc.)
Secondly, after gaining this large-scale context, I would like to close in on the more specific relationship between The Loisaida Center and NYCHA sites on the Lower East Side. I would like to understand, keeping in mind last week’s exploration of the “field” that Loisaida Inc. falls into- as put forth by Nicole Marwell’s Bargaining for Brooklyn-, how The Loisaida Center interacts with NYCHA residents in the neighborhood: whether the center operates more as a service organization in this context, or if it maintains its contemporary purpose as an arts and culture center.
Thirdly, if the above exploration yields the results that I expect it to, in which it becomes clear that in this context The Loisaida Center maintains its main purpose as an arts and culture center, I would then like to explore the programs that they have offered in the past that included NYCHA residents, either specifically as intended by the center or incidentally because a feature of the programming appealed to that specific audience. Furthermore, I’d like to take an in depth look at art programming in NYCHA housing in general to gain a better understanding of overall trends (what fields of art hold more general appeal and why) and impact of arts programming in these sites. If the re-exploration of The Loisaida Center’s field, as detailed in the second paragraph of this outline, results in the consideration of the center as a service organization or an alternative to these two options, then I will pursue the first half of this step as stated but will reconsider what kind of questions I would like to pursue as the second half of the exploration.
Fourthly, once I have established the specific type of relationship and programming that I would like to examine, I will utilize the center’s materials (ideally some type of evaluation or summary exists for the majority of this programming,) in-person visits to NYCHA sites on The Lower East Side, the archive of The Quality of Life on The Lower East Side as detailed in Week 2’s post, attendance at The Lower East Side Town Halls, testimony from the center’s employees, and-if possible- interviews with NYCHA residents themselves, to produce an in-depth evaluation and analysis of what I have learned.
In order to ensure the feasibility of my intended outline, as well as the ethical implications of my work, I will meet with the center’s directors on this upcoming Monday to discuss this tentative project plan. Once they have given me their input and suggested changes, I will update this post with the changes marked distinctly so as to acknowledge the overall thought process.
I know a lot of this is moot after our conversation earlier in the week, but I wanted to comment on what you propose above in case you want to pursue it at another time (with Loisaida Center’s approval and consent, of course). I’ll start by saying that what you propose above is *probably* a multi-year project. It involves historical research, ethnography, demographic research, survey design and implementation, long-term audience analysis, and a detailed report. So, if you ever want to write a book or a dissertation, now you have a project! I think the most compelling and impactful question you might be able to answer (again not now!) would be simply: What can The Loisaida Center do to better serve the population of NYCHA housing with arts and cultural resources and programming? Of course, that’s not so simple either, but I think it could be answered through a survey in which you could learn what arts and cultural assets are currently available and how that might be improved upon — in general. Then you might be able to identify what gaps in service The Loisaida Center could provide or assist in providing. It would be interesting to know if a survey of this sort has been done in the past (for example, did the DCA report on Arts in NYC focus on NYCHA residents in any way? Has NYCHA does this kind of survey?) and what the outcomes were. As your fellowship comes to a close, maybe that last task is something you could accomplish while you pursue the project you’ve just been assigned?