As Detroit Flounders, Its Art Scene Flourishes

An Oakland nonprofit that uses art for therapy has a startling track record for helping developmentally disabled adults become prolific—and profitable—artists.

It's often difficult for the disadvantaged portion of the population to find meaningful and rewarding work. The start-up ArtLifting takes pieces created by homeless and disabled people, finds buyers and shares the proceeds with the artists.

Artists need cheap living costs, but their presence improves a community and the property values. The State of Colorado and private developers are creating affordable housing and work spaces for artists in neighborhoods they want to thrive.

With arts funding on the cutting board across the country, students can lack motivation to go to school and the creative resources for critical thinking skills. In Brooklyn, Ascend Learning is an inner-city network of public charter schools that offer a rich arts environment to teach Common Core and the student academic performance has surpassed other schools in the neighborhood.

In 2013, Detroit filed for bankruptcy because of a poor economy. While the city’s industrial businesses have floundered, the art scene has thrived, bringing in new sources of income through art galleries and investments in contemporary art. This new art scene is one factor to measure Detroit’s recovery and prospects of growth for the future.

In the face of terror and war, art and history needed protection. A group of professors, activists, archeologists, and historians created a network to preserve and protect art and history in Syria.

Turin used to be a bustling hub for the automobile industry but since then it has been left as a dead industrial area. The Ex-incet development aims to change this by using an old company's headquarters to be the site where innovation and creativity can be brought together as people from different sectors work under the same roof.

An ad-hoc community that sprung up around a former military bunker in what is now Taipei was initially seen by the city government as a blight, with irregular buildings that violated structural codes and its self-contained disposal system that looked unsightly. But when Finnish architect Marco Casagrande examined the area, he discovered that its residents had created a truly revolutionary community more eco-friendly than the surrounding city; so "Treasure Hill" was transformed into an artist community that serves as a model for sustainable urbanism.

While treatment has stabilized the physical health of people living with HIV/AIDS, their diagnosis can be isolating and—for people over 50–the death of friends during the 80s and 90s may lead to increased social isolation. To provide a social activity among a group of peers, the Silver Surfers Club was founded in London offering screenings of classic films for people with HIV diagnoses.

The Live6 area is home to a robust cultural and creative community. And with an increase in development, there's opportunity for artists and institutions to tap into that energy to spur growth.