Artists and Neighborhoods

Have artists served as a vanguard for the forces of change within neighborhoods? What effect has preservation had on artists, and vice versa? Specific case studies included SoHo and Tribeca, neighborhoods that began as homes and studios of artists and are currently historic districts nearly devoid of resident artists; DUMBO, a neighborhood that is filled with the homes and studios of artists and is currently seeking historic district status to mitigate the increasing development of the area; and Williamsburg, whose artistic identity will soon become a casualty of recent rezoning.

Tribeca gallery owner and HDC board member Hal Bromm will moderate the panel. Our very own DOREEN GALLO, an artist and long-time resident of DUMBO - whom was kind enough to spend part of her 50th birthday doing this (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOREEN!); Nicholas Evans-Cato, an urban landscape artist working out of a studio in Vinegar Hill; Jenny Dixon, director of the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City; Robert C. Rosenberg, founder and president of the Rosenberg Housing Group and Stephen Goldsmith, a sculptor and director of the Frederick P. Rose Fellowship at the Enterprise Foundation and former director of planning for Salt Lake City, will be the panelists. Speaking from their personal and professional experiences, they will discuss the role of artists in changing neighborhoods and how artists both effect change and are affected by it.