Downtowns Make Room for Artists

  • James Abajian is an artist who lives in Elgin, Illinois. His entire apartment is stuffed with tools, paint, and works like this one. (Photo by Shawn Allee)

The stereotype of the
starving artist isn’t always true,
but, let’s face it, some artists
have a tough time finding affordable
places to both live and work. Shawn
Allee reports how one city’s
trying to solve this problem while
revitalizing its downtown:

Transcript

The stereotype of the
starving artist isn’t always true,
but, let’s face it, some artists
have a tough time finding affordable
places to both live and work. Shawn
Allee reports how one city’s
trying to solve this problem while
revitalizing its downtown:

The City of Elgin Illinois has a housing crisis – not so much for average residents, but for
some artists.

It’s not that they’re homeless, it’s just, well, to understand. It helps to meet an Elgin
artist.

“Come on in.”

“Are you James?”

“Yeah.”

This is James Abajian.

“Don’t really mind the house, I’ve been working on a couple of projects.”

When I get in, I’m dumbstruck.

Wood sculptures cover Abajian’s floor, and his dining room has stacks of paper and
canvas, and right where most apartments would have a TV, Abajian’s got an unfinished
drawing.

“It’s like a wine glass or a martini glass, and it’s on different angles.”

“Is it a charcoal drawing?”

“Yeah, it’s charcoal.”

Abajian started art eight years ago.

He says he’d like to make a living with it and rent a fancy studio, but he’s just not there
yet.

So, he lives where he works.

“My apartment is nothing but paintings and frames.”

“I think the major space that doesn’t have charcoal or something on it is your
couch.”

“Couch. That’s about it. Yeah.”

It can take a while for artists like Abajian to hone their craft, so, they make do with space
not meant for working.

It’s enough for the city of Elgin to step in and try to help at least some artists find better
quarters. Oh, and, by the way, the city thinks the solution might solve a problem it has,
too.

Ed Schock is Elgin’s mayor.

I find him downtown, outside a two-story brick building.

“So, where are we, Mayor?”

“We are looking at the Elgin Community College downtown campus building.”

Schock is considering whether this building might work as an artist colony – a place
where Elgin artists could afford to live and work.

“There are an unusual number of artists here who would like to continue to do their
art, but economic reality’s set in, one of the biggest one’s is housing. Plus, just
having 45-50 residents downtown is a big plus. One of our strategic goals is to
increase the number who reside in the downtown.”

Inside, Schock and I meet staffers from a non-profit group that’s helping Elgin develop
artist housing.

(sound of walking up stairs)

They’re with ArtSpace of Minnesota.

ArtSpace wants to see the building first-hand – they need to make sure it’s the best fit for
Elgin and the artists.

Wendy Holmes says lots of cities want artists to make older parts of town more attractive.

Holmes says it works for cities – but it doesn’t always work for artists in the long run.

“Artists have traditionally been displaced from their spaces because artists make
areas interesting and hip and desirable to move into and other people tend to move
in behind them. And those people can afford to pay higher rent therefore the artists
are usually forced out because their rents will be too high for the artists themselves
to afford.”

ArtSpace does something about that – it uses federal low-income housing credits, so rents
stay affordable, and struggling artists stick around.

Another staffer, Heidi Kurtze asks about public transit, grocery stores, and how much
light these windows get.

“You need natural light into your living space, but for artists in particular, natural
light is a critical piece for them to do the work they do.”

Kurtz takes this as seriously as a family buying a house – after all, this could be some
artists’ home for decades.

It could take two years for ArtSpace to finish its Elgin project.

Artists like James Abajain will have to make due until then.

For The Environment Report, I’m Shawn Allee.

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