这是我不得不使用我所看到的“剩余”校舍的一个想法的轮廓。但它应该适用于几乎任何项目或任何建筑物。
艺术村计划作者：David Smith david_s_14850@yahoo.com
“任何聪明的傻瓜都能让事情变得更大更复杂……需要一点天才——和很大的勇气才能朝相反的方向前进”
艾尔伯特爱因斯坦。
我想建议您加入我的想法和信息收集的可能性，以创建我正在计划的小型企业孵化器和艺术殖民地的结合。这不是这个项目的全部内容，但它可以作为一个起点。没有选择一个位置，这是一个扩展区域项目，很多人都可以加入。
以下是关于我称之为艺术村的项目的一些说明。它具有虚拟方面，可以对任何地方的任何艺术家或工匠有用——稍后会详细介绍这方面。由于“饥饿的艺术家”不是一个无意义的词，实际上往往只是一个词，所以我倾向于看低成本或高回报的方法。
艺术村的主题是；“为艺术家创造一个支持性的环境。” 它包括经营小型企业所需的项目，并具有您可能感兴趣的社区支持方面。
它预计至少部分位于未使用或“过剩”的校舍内。这些校舍有许多不错的功能，如大量停车位。
无论如何，由于艺术村的性质，没有多余的校舍并不是交易的障碍——它可以与许多其他建筑物一起完成，几乎任何类型。房屋、谷仓、商业建筑，都将被用来工作。
多余的校舍很好，也很有用——但并不是建立艺术村的全部条件。
正如您可能已经知道的那样，田纳西州西部有很少的艺术殖民地，而在州边界以外的地区也只有少数。我认为可以扭转这种情况，使所有相关方都受益。这是艺术村的好处之一——正如所概述的那样，它应该使所有相关方受益。
我选择一所学校作为起点，因为它似乎是艺术村开始的好地方。许多预计的功能，尤其是社区支持功能，可能会合理地基于这样的建筑. 诚然，我不能保证建筑物会产生积极的收入流，但投入使用的行为将很快减少空置、未使用的建筑物的大部分负面影响。这种用途还有另一个积极的副作用，即保护建筑物，因为一座空置的、未使用的建筑物比使用中的建筑物“老化”得更快。
将先前的税收损失变为建筑物的小额正收入流对社区有积极影响。高档化*也对支持此类项目的城镇产生了积极影响。
（*绅士化将一个不繁荣的社区转变为一个更繁荣的社区的过程，例如，通过人们进行租赁升级或改造建筑物。）
在这种情况下，为了解释高档化，一个人打趣道：“当艺术家搬进来时，租金就会上涨。”
分而治之？
艺术村不必位于任何一个地方。事实上，从长远来看，一个单一的地点可能会在某种程度上不利于艺术村的全部功能。
为什么艺术村最终需要在几个地方？这部分是由于艺术家本身的性质和他们的要求。“艺术家”的范围从“作为隐士的艺术家”，想要一个工作室位置，到另一个极端，表演艺术家，他们不仅想要一个工作室，他们想要它在一个中心的、交通便利的地方，而且几乎准备好了为“点播”观众绑架（！）街上的人。这里有太多的极端。显然没有一栋建筑可以服务于这两个极端，更不用说介于这两个极端之间的艺术家了。但没有法律要求艺术村的所有功能都集中在一个地方。是的，您可能认为这是必需的，但最近的发展（网络）已经改变了这一点。
艺术村怎么能同时在几个地方呢？这种分裂对彼得谷来说不是问题。这是一个艺术殖民地，分布在新泽西州一个小镇的几栋房屋中
简短、不复杂的答案是通过 Internet 进行任何所需的链接，更复杂的答案可以在现有的支持程序中找到。
可能的艺术村功能
一种可能的方法是在村庄开始拥有艺术家经常需要的一些平凡的东西后，大量购买并保留以备后用。此功能通常称为“商店”。会员艺术家不需要从艺术村的“商店”部分购买，但较低的价格、位置和材料的“新鲜性”应该鼓励这种做法。
当然，艺术村还有其他的支持功能。一个艺术家很少需要一个装卸码头，但预计会有很多艺术家在现场使用。换句话说，一个艺术家可能每月只需要一次装卸码头，但 30 位艺术家或公司的需求意味着几乎每天都需要使用此功能。装卸码头的存在也可能对当地人有用。
因此，我计划将“艺术村”的功能与小型企业“孵化器”的功能结合起来——提供尽可能多的租户，并使场地尽可能有用和完整。
另一种可能的授权是拥有一批艺术家，他们的活动自然而然地相互支持。我计划提供的不仅仅是空间租赁，因为我在很多方面都遇到过艺术家不同需求的融合。
简而言之，我希望“鼓励”具有重叠需求或功能的艺术家——然后帮助满足这些重叠需求。该报告假设但不要求该项目在农村地区启动。该项目可能位于一所多余的学校或类似的建筑物中——此时“多余”的学校可能是最好的起点。
我在引号中使用了“过剩学校”这个词，因为在与教育委员会交谈后，我确信田纳西州的任何地方都没有“过剩学校”——除了我住在坎伯兰市斯图尔德县，只有这样一所校舍离我家不超过两个街区。哎呀。这所学校至少有 10 年没有毕业班了。有一段时间它在关闭后被出租用于商业用途 - 但不是“剩余”，教育委员会声称它仍由社区出租。到目前为止，我还没有找到一个术语来帮助我找到这些明显存在于其他地方的建筑物的位置。其他人在这方面可能运气更好。校舍通常由城镇完全拥有或长期租赁。虽然情况不同，
一开始，尺寸可能比类型更重要，但所有细节都需要考虑。套用一句名言：“如果你有一栋建筑，他们就会来。”
有了互联网的能力，它就不再是一座单独的建筑物了。为什么不在一所盈余/退休的公立学校结合艺术村和其他一些东西，比如小企业孵化器和其他功能？虽然一个地区可能无法培养出足够多的艺术家来填满所有可用的教室，但艺术家和企业的组合应该能够填满这些教室，并提供安全的组合，以防经济在某一方面发生变化村的。可能影响一个群体的条件不应该对另一个群体造成如此严重的打击，一个需要另一个可以提供。毕竟，在某种程度上，艺术家是一家小企业，因此，与其他任何小企业一样需要支持。如果您只有几个租户，这本身就是一个问题。
真的，我觉得这不是问题。大多数对一个群体有吸引力的特征也会对另一个群体感兴趣。
一个日常的例子是装卸码头。没有艺术家会用手搬走一块 10 吨重的石头。因此，如果还没有的话，期待在现场有一个装运码头。反过来，这样的项目表明需要某种运输公司和临时存放区——实际上是一个仓库。从那里开始，如果需要的话，只需一小步就可以组建一家航运公司。
An Art Village can have an artist support function in other ways. For example, a simple product might be a plaster of Paris block, for pottery use. A wedging board goes for about $100 in a standard pottery catalog, basically it’s a 3$ bock of plaster of Paris. The Art village can provide there items and others* for, say, teachers giving local pottery classes. The teacher could get low cost items for setting up his class, the people attending could have an opportunity to buy such low cost items as well. The act of using the Art Village as a base of operations provides several real world benefits - the teacher has a reduced cost in first time setup for his class, the students could buy the items they learned on at low cost.
(Pottery wheels have a similar price markup) Being able to make a pottery wheel means a wheelchair bound person could have a unit to fit their needs.
Another possible support function is a spin off of bulk purchase and processing of raw materials. A real world example would be the mulling of clay. This is best done in large lots, with a large capacity machine and stored / stockpiled in plastic 55 gallon drums for long periods of time (long storage promotes an aging process). The need to process a large lot of clay would justify and support the purchase of a high capacity muller.
However, the weight of such clay restricts where such a major clay stockpile can be stored (second floor storage is NOT suggested for this, even if you can easily get it upstairs!).
Mail box center - The post office does not mind if a mailbox location is set up locally - indeed, this may free up the pressure for boxes in the local post office.
Employment firm - And just where would that firm locate? Well, I know of a place, centrally located to the local area, with lots of parking, and office space, and a number of locations and small businesses needing workers right at hand. Humm. . . Might be an effective gas savings.
Bookkeeping - Having a number of small firms in one place would be of interest to a bookkeeper. An ‘on site‘ bookkeeper could offer a lower cost service to the Art Village firms, all gathered in one place.Again - An effective time and gas savings.
Shared resources -For example, both glassblowing and pottery have a need for kilns, but the type of need is not identical. It might be possible to use the kilns for both functions with modern insulating materials and programmable controllers to cut down on problems in building or running them. There could be problems with a particular use, but there are a number of artistic needs for kiln space. Here is a partial list.
Art Clay (after being fired this is pure gold or silver )Glass slumpingGlass annealingPottery and brisk workEnamelingMetal casting
This is also a safety feature - the area can be equipped with several different gas and carbon monoxide sensors for safety.
It may also be possible to use other money saving approaches - for example, with an idea of the volume of work needed, that will suggest the number of kilns needed. You can now plan ahead for this number of kilns ultimately needed. Knowing you will need, say, 10 kilns, would justify something like building the kilns in a group to save on the heat losses on heat conducted through the walls. Build enough kilns in a circle and the ring will wrap around and ‘close’, giving you in effect a ‘free’ kiln to add to the others. This much raw pottery flow would make it easy to set up a dust control system. A local green ware storage area is also useful.
New developments like the solid state TV cameras open up new uses. It may be useful to set one up to monitor a furnace.
If possible, try to collect artists that have overlapping needs or functions. At least, have an idea of the process or functions that do truly overlap, so those needs can be meant as well.
As a typical example this report assumes (but does not require) an Art Village renter who might be building a glassblowing studio.A woodworking artist might be used to make some of the traditional glassblowing tools, for example, which are made from wood.
Day care center - A day care function is a natural add on to the Art Village, and given the conditions today there is a real need for it. I feel sure this is a feature sure to be given a positive vote. If this is was K to grade school originally the playground directed toward younger children should be a bonus to the Art Village. Adding a day care function would insure the items already in place are put to full use. Plus the kids would love it.
Caterer support - Of special interest to a local catering firm would be the full function, up to code commercial kitchen. A bonus is the day to day steady customers the site would provide for that service.The daily customers are the artists that want to eat on site, plus the parents who want to spend quality time with their children in the day care center.
Notes on glassA "hot shop" is the most difficult of any glass craft venture, conversely it would provide the greater returns. Lesser glassblowing function shops would provide almost as many benefits as well, including the need. The complex with a glass making furnace at it’s core has a number of features that could be shared with other artists, or small businesses. These features include heat output of a furnace also be used to other, somewhat more mundane uses, like some of the heat output going to a lumber drying kiln.
However, activities of a lampworking shop (an intermediate step to a full ‘hot shop’) has many of those features as well. For example, a hot shop or lampworking shop might take a step forward and go directly to a tank of cryogenic oxygen to run glassblowing torches. As a low use tank normally vents ‘excess’ (not drawn off for use) oxygen, this same cryogenic oxygen tank could run one, or a number of torches at about the same cost. In short, a cryogenic tank would support a number of torches without shortening the ‘lifetime’ use of the tank. This could include a oxy-acetylene cutting torch, as well. Such torches as those are useful in any shop. For that matter, any artistic function that involves ‘directed heat’ would benefit from access to glass blowing torches themselves. Because of the nature of glass, glass blowing torches have to be a superior design and function. They will work very well for any effort that needs directed heat.
Along the way to making the plans for the Art Village I saw the possibility of other features. The existence of these features depends in part on the building size, the local grounds, and the building features.
Mail box function - This is partly a public access function. I do know established companies have used such mailbox firms even though they had a fully functional mailing room at the time.
Phone Answering service - The school has the office space and the phone lines already in place* to support this function. There will also be a inter classroom intercom system there as well.
- (standard widespread phone company policy is to run all local phone lines into such a building - there are several technical reasons why.)
A local library -The Library area of the school will probably be ‘book free’ but should still have the bookshelves in place. I would suggest against it being broken up, as there are probably better, more positive uses for it for the original function. With the room basically unchanged there are at least two functions it can provide. divided. One such use would be to hold art books donated to the Art Village.
Local townspeople could donate books to provide books needed for the library. Such a location will be slowly restocked with donated books in one form or another. I have been involved with this project so I have firsthand knowledge of the project. The library could also provide a place for a retired couple to start a paperback business store.
Related Art village support items - Other community support functions include a community fax machine, community copier, and other items. Depending on demand and building features, this might be an Internet café, in the cafeteria, or possibly the library.
As there will be office space on site, there is the possibility of use by a number of local firms.
The auditorium is something that should not be broken up. It is quite possibly the largest single room for miles, and looking at the room as just cubic footage would be a mistake There are a number of functions possible in the space that would work best with the room in it’s original form.There are other possible low cost upgrades to the auditorium. Add a full size theater quality movie screen is possible, based on what has happened to me in the past.
Even the original design of the school can be an aid to the day to day operation of the Art Village. A school design now has only one normal access point to the building. The Art Village starts off with offering access to a number of firms, but only through a receptionist - a gatekeeper in effect - that can be a contact point even though the person is not present at the time.
Emergency functions and community support - Local support of the community would include functions like providing a ‘stand by’ church for use in case the original becomes damaged. Community support can also come from providing a location for the Red Cross, or for groups providing community support.
- (The Red cross states one of the needs for disaster center is a large building, of course, but other items like storage space and available communications is also given as a needed item.)
As support for the Art Village, I have collected a large and diverse amount of facts and information I plan to make available as a special data base. This information, presented as an Internet data base, could provide support to artists worldwide. In effect this would create a virtual ‘Art Village’ almost overnight.
Having a good showroom is another one possibility for the Art Village, and having a number of artists showing their wares in one place will tend to justify trips from patrons, encouraging extended visits by patrons, providing benefits somewhat like having an upscale shopping mall in the area.
Other functions -Depending on the building and grounds - another possible function is the display of unusual artwork and community projects, both inside and out. This might include local functions that were using the building grounds before the Art Village was established.There is a possibility of some creative reworking of items around the building - for example, with some yellow paint a local 'eyesore' propane tank can become the ‘Yellow Submarine in drydock‘.
As a ‘business anchor’ for some functions that are a bit hard to describe. For example;
Retirement homes have a number of people joining them, but having a number of still valuable items they might wish to donate. Frequently they might have life experiences, tools, musical interments or similar items for donation to the Village. In some cases the Village can be a clearing house doing nothing more than bringing such people together.
While I’m not excessively ‘Green’ (ecologically supportive) I do feel ecological solutions to problems should be encouraged where possible. Whenever possible these solutions will be added to the general operation of the Art Village.
Yours,
David Smith
david_s_14850@yahoo.com
- (There is an Art Colony in the quad city area known as "The Shoals" ( www.ShoalsCulture.com )
To see more, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArtVillage/
Leave comments, either there or here!