Arts in Space case study 1

By Hope Wallace

It’s time to head out and take a peek at the world. We’ve been so busy around the art center recently there hasn’t been time to explore our section of the country and the many ways other communities creativity draw people to their towns.

Van Wert is not alone in its struggle to grow its economic sources. Cities, towns and rural areas across the country are faced with the same dilemma due to loss of industry and global economic downturns. For whatever the reason these communities are struggling, there are several bright spots springing up with creative solutions.

According to a study conducted by the Center for Regional Development at Bowling Green State University in conjunction with the Northwest Ohio Arts Access association, the arts industry bring in over 2 billion dollars to 27 counties, including Van Wert in northwest Ohio, alone. This is all of the arts; including performing arts, film, architecture and design but it remains a hefty chunk worth further examination to see how we can use creativity to capitalize on those findings. With that in mind we are going to take a look at some of these communities who gave their suspenders a yank and forged ahead.

Traveling to Grand Rapids, Michigan, this city of 189,000 was riddled with many of the same challenges we face today. Three years ago, what began as an experiment, to create the largest non-juried art competition in the world was introduced and the city has been seeing rapid regrowth ever since. It is open to anyone, the exhibit venue is the most of the city and the bulk of the winning entries are left up to public vote via a website and through mobile devices. While some initial responses were enthusiastic some drew heavy criticism. Speculation was placed on the back burner and the project organization commenced. The weeklong event opened on September 23, 2009 and 159 venues opened their spaces to display entries from 1,262 artists from 41 states and 14 countries.

By the first Sunday, restaurants ran out of food, and within a week hotels had run out of rooms. A line two blocks long had formed to see the winning piece and the total of event attendees was 200,000. That was three years ago. Since that time the city has seen an economic impact of 7 million dollars according to a study conducted by Grand Valley State University and total visitors have topped 1 million and the prizes have exceeded $1,400,000 in spite of a recession, listing Michigan as one of its hardest hit areas.

Come on in and sign up for a class and join us in making stuff. We have a great time and firmly believe art is for everyone, not just artists. For a current class listing give us a call or check out our website.

The October Photography Exhibit is on display through Nov. 2, so if you haven’t had a chance to view these truly exceptional photographs stop by Tuesday through Sunday 1-5 p.m.

The Wassenberg Art Center’s hours during exhibits are: Tuesday through Sunday 1-5 p.m. and you may contact the art center at 419.238.6837, by email: info@wassenbergartcenter.org or via our website at: wassenbergartcenter.org. 
We are located at 643 South Washington Street in Van Wert.