When a neighborhood experiences urban blight, artists are often drawn there to repurpose abandoned and interim spaces as studios and residences. Affordability, accessibility, and spaciousness attract this demographic. But this trend can catalyze the cycle of gentrification. Today, the South Bronx has become a new hub for New York City’s artists, making it the latest frontier. Many new developments and artists’ residencies are springing up and causing local residents to question—who are these really meant for?
As I’ve been researching cultural programming in this area, I have been curious to understand a bit more about arts-driven gentrification.
I know that this is not a new phenomenon. Arts-driven gentrification was a prevalent topic in Manhattan in the 20th century, particularly in frontiers such as Soho, Alphabet City, Chelsea and later in the 21st century, Bushwick. I took a look at Rosalyn Deutsche and Cara Gendel Ryan’s piece, The Fine Art Of Gentrification, to learn more about artists moving into the Lower East Side in the 1980s.
I got to thinking about arts-driven gentrification when I was researching the Bronx Commons development, and came across many articles about upcoming cultural building projects in the Bronx.
If gentrification is, in crude terms, the transfer of a place from one class to another, then artists have shown a contribution or at least a complicity in this exchange in the past. Deutsche and Ryan declared it essential to “understand the gentrification process–and the art world’s crucial role within it—if we are to avoid aligning ourselves with the forces behind this destruction.” This is an important point, as many are quick to point fingers at real estate developers and larger institutional forces (rightly so) before taking a look at gentrification on a micro level—the individuals.
Deutsche and Gendel explain that the gentrification process is two-fold. First, the immediate aim is for the city to isolate the local population and dislodge working-class communities by “wrestling control of neighborhood property and housing and turning it over to real-estate developers.” The second step, according to the authors, is the encouragement of “the full-scale development of appropriate conditions to house and maintain late capitalism’s labor force, a professional white middle class groomed to serve the center of American ‘post-industrial’ society.” In places like the East Village, largely populated by young urban professionals, this is clearly the case.
Though written in 1984, The Fine Art of Gentrification, raises points that ring true today. I found this passage particularly relevant to the current state in the South Bronx:
“On the Lower East Side it was not until artists, the middle class’s own avant-garde, had established secure enclaves that the rear guard made its first forays into the ‘wilderness’. The success of these forays can best be measured by the rapid escalation in real-estate activity. To portray artists as the victims of gentrification is to mock the plight of the neighborhood’s real victims.
The notion of a place being marked as ‘wild’ before artists move in is an idea that continues to crop up in various parts of the city co-opted by artists—from Bushwick to Harlem. But let me be clear—artists are not the enemy. However, according to the authors, the interests of the art-world can align with those of the city government and the real-estate industry, which can ultimately drive up rents and displace the urban poor.
Today there is heavy debate over new artists’ residencies being built in the South Bronx. According to a Crains New York article entitled “Bye bye Bushwick: The Bronx is the city’s next new arts scene” The Bronx are a “fast-growing hub for the arts”.
The article explains that artists are moving in from around New York City and that, “galleries are popping up, and nonprofit arts organizations are opening or expanding, staging world-class shows that are bringing in more outsiders.” (Souccar, Crains)
On one hand, this could help revitalize the economy, but on the other hand, these residencies aren’t always affordable for Bronx locals.
Ed Garcia Conde, of welcome2thebronx, wrote about a group of New York City artists who recently bought vacant land in order to develop a seven-story condo for artists. Conde, and many Bronx natives are skeptical, as the units are expected to go for between $175,000 and $700,000. According to Conde, this begs the question—who are these units really for?
Bearing all of this in mind, I want to distinguish these kinds of new artists’ residencies from what WHEDco and the BMHC doing. I believe that in order to establish trust in a community, it helps to show that your intention is to help the neighborhood
Many people are familiar with WHEDco, as they have been a force in the community and have demonstrated a commitment to the neighborhoods in the Bronx over a long period of time rather than swooping in once it’s proven to be lucrative.
Many performers I spoke to mentioned that they didn’t have a specific local venue, and they would often perform in public schools or community centers. In conducting interviews, part of my research was to speak to musicians of minority communities and offer the BMHC performing space for future events. While this is just one example of how the BMHC actively works to include the community, there were countless moments where I saw their mission manifested.
From my own perspective, I’ve witnessed how the events held at BMHC were really meant for the surrounding community. I saw Elena, the head of BMHC, interact with anyone and everyone who came in with warmth and sincerity. I was really interested in those who would come to the events regularly, often elderly residents of the neighborhood. But the crowds were always extremely diverse and it was great to watch various people engage in a public space.
