Arts

Are you a renter who's wondering: "Hm, is this a good time for me to buy a home? Could I afford it? Oof, where do I even start?!"  SAVE THE DATE for one of two energizing free "Art of Home Buying" workshops on May 17 (evening) and May 19 (morning) in St. Paul.  Come learn the basics from a fellow artist - how to build towards financial security; why and how homeownership can benefit you; steps to owning a home; and, local programs and services.  These free workshops are offered by the initiative Irrigate in partnership with ArtHome and the Home Ownership Center.  Details to come soon; in the meantime, questions and rsvps can be addressed to Jun-Li at jun-li@springboardforthearts.org and 651-789-0679.

The City of St. Paul wants your short, original poems - elegant rhymes, playful limericks, bar napkin free verse, classroom haikus... The Department of Public Works and Public Art Saint Paul invite all Saint Paul residents to enter our fifth annual sidewalk poetry contest. With 5 new winners, we will expand our collection to more than 40 poems and 500 installations across the city. There's a poet in every one of us, so help pave our streets with poetry, and enter! Contest closes April 13. Enter at stpaul.gov/poetry

From Starling: 

You should do it. That project, business, event, experiment. Maybe it exists already, maybe it almost does. But the answer is yes, and – if you need space to get started, and you’re not looking for a long-term lease – we know where you should incubate that idea. Put aside anything you’ve thought about where you might do it. If you’re looking for inexpensive, flexible, accessible space, and visibility isn’t a bad thing, here’s our suggestion:

The retreat to talk about the structure of the Creative Enterprise Zone Action Team will be meeting in the Lecture Room (by the bookstore, Lower level of Luther Seminary Olson Campus Center, 1490 Fulham, 4:00 to 8:30 Thursday, December 15.

Artists of any level, experience or discipline - who live, work or have a personal investment in the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit neighborhoods - are invited to a complimentary training on placemaking and cross-sector collaboration this Saturday. Use your creative talents to have an impact on your neighborhood, your local businesses, and the light rail corridor. After completing the training, artists will be eligible to apply for $1000 collaborative placemaking project support through a simple and speedy application process.

Eligibility:  

You consider yourself an artist.
You live, work or have a personal investment in at least one of the Central Corridor Light Rail neighborhoods.
You want to learn about placemaking and working cross-sector.

The vision of the Creative Enterprise Zone at the crossroads of Raymond and University Avenue is to be a livable, mixed-use neighborhood, recognized and sustained as a center of creativity and enterprise. Our neighborhood is a creative zone filled with enterprises both existing and forming.

Part of this vision is already in place and must be preserved, while other elements need to be fostered. It's rooted in the idea that creative work is both necessary and satisfying; that an increasing number of people will make a living through their creative capacities bringing increased productivity and innovation; and that a more desirable place to live and work will grow here because of the vibrant mix of people and ideas.

Imagine that light rail drops you at a stop just east of University & Raymond Avenue. You are immediately engaged in the vibrant mix of industry, creativity and living space that makes the area so unique.

RSVP here to join the tour & get the meet up locations

  Soon, hundreds of projects led by local artists will bring new life and vibrancy to the Central Corridor Light Rail Line in Saint Paul, thanks to a new partnership between Springboard for the Arts, Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the City of Saint Paul.  Called Irrigate, this initiative spurs artist-led creative placemaking spanning the six miles of the Central Corridor Light Rail line in Saint Paul during the years of its construction. This is a unique opportunity that brings together huge infrastructure development, a high concentration of resident artists on both ends of the corridor, a diverse ethnic and cultural mix among the neighborhoods, and a city with a strong track record of artist community engagement.

Clues that a creative and artistic community exists in the Raymond and University area can be found in the embellished stairwells, diverse building directories, and the occasional intriguing window but up until now, it's been hard to quantify the numbers and types of creative enterprises. Thanks to a grant from CURA for research assistance, the St. Anthony Park Community Council, working with a committee called the Creative Enterprise Zone Action Team, has a better picture of who  works in the creative enterprises and what they do. If you would like to read more about it, you can download a copy below.

From the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA):

To date, we've held three workshops where neighborhood people, local business people, city staff and Councilmember Stark have met to talk about what kind of development we want to see happen in the area around the West Midway (Raymond and University and surrounds). This initiative was spurred by the exodus of artists and creative businesses from the area so much of the discussion has centered on ways to keep that sector of the business community here and thriving.

Since part of their ability to do this rests on stable and affordable work and office space, the discussions have included ways to incorporate this kind of space into larger mixed use developments. At this last of four workshops, we invite people to come contribute to the development recommendations for the area. The recommendations will be given to the City Council and Planning Commission. Everyone is welcome--it is not required to have attended the first three workshops to come to this one.

Goodwill/Easter Seals Building
553 Fairview Ave. N, St. Paul

Workshop 4 - Framing Recommendations

Contribute to the creation of development recommendations for the West Midway Creative Enterprise Zone which will be submitted to the City Council and Planning Commission.

The Creative Enterprise Zone plan is available in two versions -  steering committee version with action steps (this is a download) or the the entire color pdf (11x17) version with the plan background, info about the participants, and credits (Beware, it's a big file). Support for the Creative Enterprise Zone plan provided by the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative and the Saint Anthony Park Community

Are you an artist or creative type?  Used to working solo in your studio, on your kitchen counter, or only with other artists?  Do you wonder about how to have an impact on community, in your neighborhood, or even new ways to use your creative talents?  Be a Friendly Streets Placemaking Artist this summer!  All disciplines encouraged.  The Central Corridor Friendly Streets Initiative that will host block parties this summer to share information about creative placemaking and streetscape design seeks artists and creative types to engage community in creative placemaking.  Springboard for the Arts will provide free training for artists to understand and implement creative placemaking, and a $400 project participation stipend to create placemaking activities for the block parties.  
 

This popular annual neighborhood event benefits the St. Anthony Park Branch Library. Proceeds from the Festival fund summer library reading and activity programs, keeping thousands of children active and engaged in reading throughout the summer.The festival will be held rain or shine. Visit http://www.stanthonyparkartsfestival.org/ for the full schedule of events and artists.