Asheville once attracted drove of artists and craftspeople due to it’s friendly community, affordable housing and supportive community. But, with real estate prices still climbing and the city’s culture seemingly changing to reflect a wealthier and less arts-oriented brand of resident, will there be a place for artists?
In other words, is our arts community getting priced out?
unfortunately this is an almost inevitable trend. i think many here, want to keep that community vibrant (i for one), but it will be tough as the downtown sector begins to grow. i think the river district is already gaining wide attention as a spot for amazing development, (as pointed out by Xpress a few issues back), but I do think some developers are seeing that without that art community, the draw is just not as great for people. people in asheville and beyond go to the river district b/c of what it is known for: its vibrant arts community. i think that development will eventually occur, retail and restraunts, and this will inevitably drive up prices for artists on the long term. but it would be nice to see some measures taken to assure that this community does not become gentrified and get pushed out, and it must start now. the development is for sure going to take place. and quickly....within the next 10 years.
Fortunately, I think that the brakes are already being applied on the rapid growth that we were seeing. I know of one large development near me that probably isn’t going to happen now, and I’m hopeful that our river district will remain untouched. With the slowing of the housing market, I think we will see more rental homes available now that flippers can’t make that fast buck.
To touch on a larger subject, I think that it has NEVER been easy living here! We’ve been in Asheville for 11 years, and we are finally beginning to see some level of financial comfort. We’ve worked plenty of crappy jobs, but those jobs didn’t define us and not why we are living here.
I do agree with you Marc...its been hard living here...making a living that is. But I do think this kind of development at the River District is inevitable...being in the thick of it, talking with some of the people that are interested in that kind of development, developers realize there is plenty of potential there. And it will happen. Even despite some of the obstacles (flood plain, height issues). Fortunately for artists, it wont happen rapidly I don’t think, due to the economy and the pace of things at the moment...I think we are talking 10 years out. But it would be careless for us to think that those areas wont get developed. There’s plenty of talk going around about the River and it’ll happen to be sure.
Think about some of the greatest cities in America that are designed around bodies of water, Chicago being the best example. It has enormous potential...to be near downtown Asheville, but be near the river. It will surely happen. Lets pray that it happens at a smart and friendly pace (fingers crossed).
They streamed over the mountains, hungry and restless--restless as ants, scurrying to find work to do--to sculpt , to webmaster, to tattoo, to graphic design, to draw anything, any burden to bear, for food. The kids are hungry. We got no place to live. Like ants scurrying for work, for food, and most of all for land.
He drove his old car into a town. He scoured the ad agencies for work. Where can we sleep the night?
Well, there’s a Hooverville on the edge of the river. There’s a whole raft of Okies there.
He drove his old car to Hooverville. He never asked again, for there was a Hooverville on the edge of every town.
The rag town lay close to water; and the houses were tents, and weed-thatched enclosures, paper houses, a great junk pile. The man drove his family in and became a citizen of Hooverville--always they were called Hooverville. The man put up his own tent as near to water as he could get; or if he had no tent, he went to the city dump and brought back cartons and built a house of corrugated paper. And when the rains came the house melted and washed away. He settled in Hooverville and he scoured the countryside for work, and the little money he had went for gasoline to look for work.
Fortunately, I think that the brakes are already being applied on the rapid growth that we were seeing. I know of one large development near me that probably isn’t going to happen now, and I’m hopeful that our river district will remain untouched. With the slowing of the housing market, I think we will see more rental homes available now that flippers can’t make that fast buck.
marc
Yeah, I agree. I think it may already be staring to happen. Look at some of the houses in the for rent section. I recognize at least a few in Montford that folks have been trying to sell for about a year now. It seems to be slowing down in the outlying areas with the unfinished gated communities and such.
So maybe the backlash will help out the renters. But then again, if there are no wealthy folks coming here, and our general economy is in a recession, then who will the artists sell their wares to?
The Asheville economy ten years ago had the forward momentum of the housing industry and tourism, with a low cost of living compared to other comparable areas around the country. Folks could scrape by in relative luxury. Today, it costs about the same to live here (at least within the city) as many major cities, when you take into account wages and such. So perhaps the artists are only the first wave in the revitalization process, and now we are beginning to see a new stage; recession.
It was a recession in the 70’s that allowed Asheville to become an artists haven in the first place. Downtown was virtually deserted before the “community” discovered it in the late 80’s.
But it would be foolish to think that such a recession would once again render Asheville financially-hospitable to the artistic community. With all the attention the town has gathered in recent years (multitudes of “Best Place to Live/Retire” etc.), I think the Asheville we all knew is simply a memory.
It was a recession in the 70’s that allowed Asheville to become an artists haven in the first place. Downtown was virtually deserted before the “community” discovered it in the late 80’s.
But it would be foolish to think that such a recession would once again render Asheville financially-hospitable to the artistic community. With all the attention the town has gathered in recent years (multitudes of “Best Place to Live/Retire” etc.), I think the Asheville we all knew is simply a memory.
I think this is pretty much on target. But, that doesn’t mean that Asheville can’t be made, through some kind of concerted effort by local government and business, to encourage the arts and culture in the area. Many cities have such programs, such as the HUB-BUB project in Spartanburg.
I think the concerns about affordability/artist population are warranted. I agree that a concerted effort to maintain affordable housing options is necessary. Asheville’s revival has been based on an authentic creative economy, based on real creative work, by real people. Future planning needs to focus on that authentic creative vibe. Mixed use buildings/districts are an important tool.
While the private sector is probably ranting about the free market, highest-best use kind of points, multiple perspectives must encompass the planning process. From my perspective, Asheville needs to keep an eye on the future and make certain we are ahead of the development curve. We always need to consider where the “new young things” (artists/entrepreneurs) can flourish. Affordability is key to this. If new young ideas can’t find a place within the city to take seed, than the city will become boring. And as Jane Jacobs, one of my heroes, stated in “Death and Life of Great American Cities” (a must read for citizens who care about their city), when a place gets boring even the rich people leave. Without a purposeful intent to make places affordable for the young and creative, Asheville will become like a million other places.
Asheville has so many citizens who truly care about keeping the city vibrant and authentic. The young and the creative are crucial for this. Now it is time to organize and advocate for affordable opportunities for creatives.
As an artist, I know I cannot afford to live on income solely as an artist in Asheville. Most artists I know are the same. The only people I see able to are those supported by their families, the retirees, or others who take out small business loans in hopes of making their ‘artist dream’ last longer than a year or so. There is a very small percentage of Asheville artists that do make it here. Most of them live day to day on very little cash and cannot afford studio space. One of the most well known artists in Asheville (that I know) lives in a one-bedroom apartment in an old house. His studio is the room he sleeps in. A few have made it and have large studio spaces. I mostly attribute this to ‘being in the loop’..and they know the right people or have the right parents. Ha.. Anyway. I do not think there is enough affordable studio space in Asheville. Spaces at $100.- to 200.- would be nice. Don’t get me started on housing.
FIne artists have a tough time in most places, but it’s hard for even commercial artists to find gainful employment in this area. There are few jobs and an abundance of people to fill them.
It looks like the popularity of Asheville amongst the yuppie set has doomed the long haired artist types. Looks like these folks will have to get a real day job and do their art on the side.
As an artist with a day job, I have to say a better question might be Is Asheville still affordable for anyone who’s actually trying to earn a living here as opposed to those who are bringing their money in from elsewhere? I’m still making the same money I was making eight years ago but my cost of living has gone up by over a third since then. I know of some artists who have already given up and left to find places where their day jobs actually pay a living wage. I might well have followed them last spring if I didn’t have my whole family and what’s left of my roots here; it’s a tough call. The cost of living here is the same, pretty much, as it is in many larger cities. The difference is that the salaries are much lower. I can understand that - for every job opening that I’ve posted or known about in the arts & sciences here (and I’ve worked for nonprofits for pretty much my whole career) there are 50 - 100 bright, qualified, desperate individuals applying and the key word here is desperate. They will and do work for hardly anything, which is a shame, since there’s no incentive for employers to raise their salaries. I mean, if you can have someone with a masters degree selling your coffee or tickets at the front desk for $8 an hour, why would you pay more? Well, because your employees simply can’t live here on $8 an hour anymore. Unless the salaries somehow begin to come into line with the cost of living, Asheville is going to continue to lose artists and the working class.
“So maybe the backlash will help out the renters. But then again, if there are no wealthy folks coming here, and our general economy is in a recession, then who will the artists sell their wares to?”
Asheville’s economy has always been tied to tourism. They will still come in the summer from the hotter flat lands. South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Charlotte clog I-26 every summer. That will always happen. As far as the “sophisticated” crowd who buys “art”, I can certainly live without them.
