Cities CAN re-invent themselves.. Paducah is doing it..with ARTISTS

[SoCalDem]

http://www.paducaharts.com/about.php

At a time when funding for the arts is constantly being cut, Paducah is establishing an environment where artists and the arts are flourishing. Paducah’s Artist Relocation Program was started in August of 2000 and is now a national model for using the arts for economic development. The Artist Relocation Program has been awarded the Governors Award in the Arts, The Kentucky Chapter of the American Planning Association Distinguished Planning Award, The American Planning Association National Planning Award, and most recently Kentucky League of Cities Enterprise Cities Award.

The Artist Relocation Program is about artist ownership, thus giving the artists a vested interest in our community. To date we have relocated forty-five artists who have taken us up on our financial and cultural incentives. These artists have relocated from Illinois, San Francisco, San Diego, Minneapolis, Memphis, Nashville, Okalahoma,Maryland, Washington, North Carolina, Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Texas, Arizona, Wisconsin, Hawaii, Washington D.C., and Kentucky.


Historic 1917 Texaco Station in the heart of Lower Town is now the Candle Station.


Cafe Minou the new taste in Lower Town

We already have a well-established cultural community that includes the Market House Museum, Museum of the American Quilters, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah Film Society, Paducah Symphony Orchestra, Market House Theatre, Community Concert Series, and Maiden Alley Cinema which features national, international, and foreign films. Also, we have a new $44 million performing arts center that is located downtown on the riverfront and offers a variety of cultural events. It is with the vision of Paducah as a thriving artist community that our local leaders endorsed the Paducah Artist Relocation Program


Program Information

Artist Relocation Incentives:

100% financing for purchase and rehab of an existing structure or building of a new structure. Basic loan package is 7% - 30yr. fixed rate up 300% of appraised value.
Free lots for new construction as available.
City will pay up to $2500 for architectural services or other professional fees.
Artist Relocation Program is in the Enterprise Zone.
All materials for rehab or new construction are tax-exempt.
Discounted web pages.
National marketing of arts district and Paducah.
Lower Town is zoned for commercial and residential which enables artists to have gallery, studio, and living space all under one roof.

Cultural Incentives:

Luther F. Carson Four Rivers Performing Arts Center - $44 million, 1800-seat performing arts center completed March 2004.
Market House Theatre – One of the top ten community theatre’s in the country.
Maiden Alley Cinema – $800,000 state of the art theater that shows national, international, and foreign films.
Museum of the American Quilters Society – Attracts over 74,000 visitors a year from throughout the U.S. and other countries around the world.
Yeiser Art Center – Houses a permanent collection of 19th and 20th century artists and exhibitions of regional and national artists.
Paducah Community College Focus Series – Has brought groups such as the Louisville Ballet and the Cincinnati Opera.
Paducah Symphony Orchestra – Professional orchestral group that performs four regular concerts and one pop concert per year.
River Heritage Museum - This educational facility features functions and habitats of the rivers of the four rivers region.
Downtown After Dinner - Six blocks of live entertainment Saturday nights! Music, shopping, antique cars, horse drawn carriage rides & fine dining every Saturday night from May thru September.

Other Accomplishments

American Planning Association – National Planning Award/Special Community Initiative.
Kentucky Chapter of the American Planning Association – Special Merit Award for Outstanding Planning.
2002 Governor’s Government Award in the Arts.
2001 James C. Howland Awards for Urban Enrichment – Recognition Award.
5. Kentucky Arts Council Grant.
City of Paducah Beautification Award.
Kentucky Bankers Association – BKD Award for Excellence and Innovation
Kentucky Bankers Association – Pegasus Award for Community Project
2004 Kentucky League of Cities – Enterprise Cities Award
Dorothy Mullins Arts and Humanities Award – National Recreation and Parks Association
National Publications and/or Television
Dennis Wholey – This is America
KET Kentucky Life…On the Road, Along Highway 62
Chicago Tribune
Los Angeles Times
Baltimore Sun
2 Art Calendar (The Arts and Economic Incentives – One of the leaders of this movement is the city of Paducah, Kentucky. The unique aspect of Paducah’s program is that it involves essentially the entire city:
American Artist Magazine
American Style
Niche Magazine
Sculptural Pursuit Magazine
Artists and Graphic Designers Market
Craft Report
Preservation Magazine
Watercolor Magazine
3 Dialogue Magazine
International Review of African American Artists


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many other articles @ http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=paducah+artist+relocation

[Submariner]

1. Oops...a nookular HOT zone

In the early '90s I was involved in an environmental assessment (remediation feasibility study) at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion plant where they processed uranium-235/238 for the WWII and Cold War nukes. Driving to the site, I remember clearly the local store advertising lead-lined bras for women.

We would pick up road-killed owls and deer, or their antlers, and send them to the lab to analyze the level of radiation in them. One time we even went to a local neighbors yard and picked corn, tomatoes, and zucchini for analysis, only to find them too hot to eat.

Artist's, beware of where you move. Just stay as far away from the plant as possible, and not in the down-wind direction of the prevailing winds.

[SoCalDem]

2. EEk.. I never knew anything about Paducah..

This program seemed like a great idea.. It's the DOWNTOWN they are trying to renovate.. is that where the plant was??

[Submariner]

4. Plant is outside of town

about 20 miles from the downtown area as I recall. The artists are probably relatively safe if they live in the downtown Paducah area. If they migrate to the suburbs near the plant then it would be a different issue. Another thing I remember about Paducah was a historical marker sign commemorating a certain spot in downtown where they lynched slaves. Nice place.:sarcasm:

[readmoreoften]

3. Yes, but other than the artist population in town...

You're in Kentucky. I'm too gay to be in Kentucky. You can't have the arts with out the gays. It's in our blood.

[SoCalDem]

5. Actually they ARE welcoming gays..

I saw a piece on PBS a while back about this plan, and two very obviously gay guys from sanFrancisco got a huge bank loan to renovate an old building for a studio/gallery..

When it comes right down to it, money is always a winner:).. They know their lilttle town was dying until they started this plan.. they were watching historic buildings crumble,and had no tax base at all..