A long, long time ago….Downtown used to be a hotbed of arts activity. As a 20+ year downtown veteran, I remember. I was even a part of the buzz for awhile as a staff member of the Tucson Arts District Partnership – the group tasked with downtown revitalization through the arts. Established in the mid to late 1980′s, after a feasibility study said that’s what we should do, the arts district burst onto the scene with a signature event – Downtown Saturday Night. Wildly successful in bringing the community to our urban core, it sadly ran its course and became a shadow of itself after a few years, but it was pretty amazing at its zenith. Thousands of Tucsonans walking the sidewalks (and spilling onto the street) to experience galleries, cafe’s, shops and performances of both art and music. New art spaces opening up in vacant storefronts (phantom galleries), the sight of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra performing in the Ronstadt Transit Center, artists in residence interacting with the public to create murals and other works of art.

Downtown Saturday Night was just one program of the partnership (Managed aptly by staff member Claudia Jesperson) and became our community arts showcase. Other TADPI programs included; Artists in Residence, Thursday Night Art Walks, the Art 30 publication, Phantom Galleries, Art studios, an Artspace loan program, Warehouse District master planning, the Phantom Sculpture program and on and on.

What happened to all of this good stuff?

Times change, with the illusion of free easy Rio Nuevo cash, and, the creation of the Business Improvement District (Tucson Downtown Alliance), a lot of additional cooks entered the kitchen. TADPI’s original, long serving Executive Director Sarah Clements moved on, and so did many other staffers (Mary Glenn, Mary Ellen Wooten, Myself – to start the Fox Theatre project) and an era ended. Are we better off now? Those who remember the glory days may not think so, but I think this era laid the groundwork for what came next. No doubt in fits and starts, but this activity did get a segment of the community comfortable with coming back downtown. The decline of the seedy bars (Manhattan, etc.) and rise of hip galleries (Dinnerware, Central Arts, Berta Wright, etc.) and eateries – R.I.P Cafe Magritte – along with retail like the Arts District Bookstore were the needed transition elements. I hope we see this type of success again soon, and if not let’s remember what we had – a small urban success led in part by a noble organization, thanks TADPI!

It seems like the debate over art space in Tucson is ramping up again. Every so often we see a story in the local media about some “sweetheart deal” local artists are getting at tax- payer expense. As a veteran of many art space development projects downtown I can tell you it is not as simple as it sounds. Development is hard, whatever of the end use. There are risks, benefits and headaches along the way for all projects.

What many people forget, or did not know, is that downtown used to be filled with quirky art spaces (galleries, studios, small theatres) and then big developers saw a potential for profit due to the crowd these spaces brought in. (especially during the heyday of Downtown Saturday Night as presented by the Tucson Arts District Partnership).

This almost-gentrification was amplified due to the chimera of free, easy cash from Rio Nuevo and, consequently, many artists fled for the warehouse district or simply left the core. Is it worth reasonable public support to keep part of what makes our community vibrant – yes. We need only to look at other communities to see what works and what does not. We have some vital parts of the puzzle, let’s keep adding the rest until the image is complete.