() on July 30, 2011, at 10:05AM – #1

Good luck with that. The basic problem here is that the structure of the Art Walk is not an "event" like a street fair or other festival. Technically, no permits are required or special permission is needed, because there are no street closures or organized public entertainments. Everything happens on private property, and the resulting crowds are simply a fact in a dense city.

The Art Walk was originally conceived as a "demonstration project" of how Downtown A could be one day: vibrant, busy, lively. This was back when DTLA was deserted after 6 pm, except for a few isolated places like 4th & Main.

Do we really still need the Art Walk? Seems to me that Downtown is vibrant, busy, and lively all the time now.

Mario Teran on July 30, 2011, at 10:49AM – #2

Well, for those of you that don't like the Art Walk, having the city get involved should be a blessing. Anytime the city (or government in general) starts looking into something, failure can't be too far away. It was fun while it lasted, but the "Police State" can never keep it's hands out of a good thing.

Jim Winstead on July 30, 2011, at 11:26AM – #3

i hope they pull some business and gallery owners into the discussion, since the art walk still bizarrely doesn't have those voices on its board.

i hope the discussion of safety includes making sure that not only the streets are safe, but so are the venues. or do we have to wait for something tragic to happen in an over-capacity space before that becomes a concern?

Tony Hoover on July 30, 2011, at 12:42PM – #4

My feeling is that Artwalk is still relevant and will remain relevant long after Downtown realizes its full potential.

The organizers of Artwalk may have intended differently but, personally, I never looked at Artwalk as solely a mechanism to help historic downtown realize its “potential”. Even in the beginning, I didn’t look at Artwalk as an “art event” -- I looked at it as a social event that centered on art.

With few exceptions, the caliber of the art exhibited in Gallery Row has not yet achieved a level that would draw serious art collectors. I’m not saying the art is bad, but rather just not “evolved” to the level that would attract collectors. One of the exceptions is Crewest whose artists are now more relevant than ever.

I’ve been to artwalk events in other cities in America and around the world and they are all basically the same – the celebration of community. Locally, events like Artwalk help to create a “conversation” about art and over time foster an appreciation of art. The “lowbrow” aspect of Artwalk (that gets ire of some “highbrow” art professionals) actually works very well for the “lowbrow art movement” that LA is now internationally known for. Art has changed, and (very important) the way we experience art has also changed. “Art in the Streets” at the Geffen cements this. In today’s world stuffy art gallery openings with white walls and champagne would probably be out of step with our lowbrow art movement. For this reason I don’t see a problem with the kids and food trucks. It all seems to work.

What does need to happen are more controls for Artwalk. People who live in the area should be buffered from any negative impacts of a large monthly event. There should be a much greater police presence and a plan obviously needs to be made to help pedestrians move through the district easier. I think that the gallery owners would also earn points for thinking of creative ways to embrace and engage the kids that are now coming to Artwalk. I look at the growth of Artwalk (and the kids) as an opportunity, not as a detriment. Ironically, our creative community hasn’t figured out that opportunity.

One idea I have is to move the food trucks to Broadway instead of congregating them in a parking lot. By lining them up along the street crowds would be spread over a broader area of downtown which will help to relieve congestion on the sidewalks.

TBerry on July 30, 2011, at 01:12PM – #5

@Tony - I think moving the food trucks to Broadway is a great idea.

Tony Hoover on July 30, 2011, at 05:08PM – #6

Just dreaming here … but the other idea I was eluding to would be to try to get local artists and arts institutions to use Artwalk as an opportunity to collaborate and invigorate our youth and our community. It’s very difficult to get the attention of young people – actually it’s difficult to get the attention of anyone in LA - but Artwalk already has the attention of 10s of thousands of people. We have an opportunity to convert what some people see as a liability into an asset. We could shift the focus of artwalk more squarely on the art. The idea is conceptual but it could be developed into something amazing.

Take, for example, Jaimie Escalante the high school math teacher from East LA. He found a way to engage the youth community by demonstrating to them he was willing to work hard for them. All the kids in his community needed was someone willing to invest in them. The youth community responded by taking him up on his offer and to be better students.

We have problems with Artwalk. We also have problems with our community. We can look at Artwalk as simply a problem – or we can look at it as an opportunity to engage our youth AND our community. If anyone knows what I mean by this it would be Gustavo Dudamel. El Sistema engages the youth of Venezuela through music. Dudamel is a product of El Sistema.

Artwalk is only one day a month so I don’t see it as the solution to all problems but it could be the start of something much bigger if we put our minds to it. Ironically, it takes creative minds to accomplish things like this.

Kim Cooper on August 02, 2011, at 08:12AM – #7

On October 1, 2009, the non-profit board of the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk unanimously voted in a policy document meant to steer the growth and ensure public safety for the then-burgeoning community event. A link to this document can be found below:

On November 9, 2009, founding non-profit director Richard Schave (my husband) and I stepped down from the board of the non-profit we had founded, due to false attacks on our competence and credibility from Russell Brown, the Executive Director of the neighborhood's landlord's organization (HCBID) and then-President of the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council (DLANC), and the troubles that Mr. Brown's attacks had created within the board.

The policy document, although unanimously approved by the board, disappeared from the Art Walk website soon after we stepped down, as did the event's Mission Statement. We are unaware of any policy documents or Mission Statement which have replaced them.

We hope that this lengthy document, the result of ten months of feedback from the downtown community and research into the management of similar happenings nationwide, will be of use to the Art Walk Task Force as they seek to determine where this important event, held in the public trust, has been and where it is going.

DTLA2011 on August 02, 2011, at 10:18AM – #8

OMG Kim Cooper, stop already. Repeating it over and over again for 2 years does not make it true, or relevant. Everybody else has moved on, please do the same and spare us this sanctimonious nonsense.

Kim Cooper on August 02, 2011, at 11:16AM – #9

Blogdowntown comment guidelines: Keep it civil, everyone. If you're attacking people instead of arguments, or being overly profane, expect your comment to get deleted. Comments should be on topic for the story they are posted on or they will be removed.

Eric, are you going to allow an anonymous commenter -- DTLA2011, 8/2/11 10:18am, who has only previously posted to this site under this name on 7/28 in order to make another personal attack upon me (since deleted, thanks) -- but who seems to be a regular, to make personal attack comments which violate your site's guidelines? Wasn't the new non-anonymous comment policy introduced in part to quell these types of personal attacks, which were such a big problem on this site in late 2009/ early 2010?

"Conversation is strongest when it is a discussion between individuals, not between randomly-created pseudonyms." (Eric Richardson, 2/11/10)

http://blogdowntown.com/2010/02/5098-creating-a-stronger-conversation

Some of us are here posting under our own names or commonly-used nicknames seeking solutions for an ongoing problem in the community that has resulted in the death of a child. Others just want to anonymously, dishonestly attack.

DTLA2011 on August 02, 2011, at 04:22PM – #10

Kim, stop being so oversensitive. It's a just as much a part of the dialog to confront you on your nonsense, and I am not attacking you personally. The comment Eric removed deserved to be removed, that was personal. This is not.

You are continuing to promote yourself on this blog as if your brief, failed leadership of the Art Walk was somehow beyond criticism. Woe to those who call you on your positions, all you want to do is slander them.

When you ran the Art Walk you had no outreach to the downtown community, so this document you created is bogus. Your meetings were all in secret, and you excluded the community, and got feedback only from your friends who worked on your tour projects. Despite all your claims, the board of the art walk still fired you.

Enough said. Who should listen to you now? You don't even live here.

downtown vibe on August 03, 2011, at 04:04PM – #11

The food trucks should not be downtown at all!

The property owners and businesses are paying for BID services to help raise standards downtown. The foodtrucks are not. The reason why the concept of operating a pirate restaurant has taken off, is because the operators have figured out they don't have to invest a dime into the community. They role in to a high rent district, steal the business away from legitimate brick and mortar establishments, and leave. A good portion of their business is done in cash, so no taxes.

Broadway should be incorprated into the Artwalk footprint, but it should be done by activating the theaters and storefronts, not turning it into a giant illegal food court. THIS WILL ONLY STOP REAL BUSINESSES FROM OPENING ON BROADWAY.

Even programming Pershing Square would help. Coordinate entertainment to happen at the same time as Artwalk, but AVOID calling it a street event at all costs!

Jamie DeFrisco on August 05, 2011, at 07:40PM – #12

The parking lots don't pay for BID services? I honestly don't know.

The sad reality is that I believe the food trucks do more good than bad. There's not enough food establishments open at this time to feed everyone who attends artwalk. I don't think there's enough people willing to support these businesses when it's not artwalk. Having temporary food trucks in the area, solves this dilemma. The food trucks also encourage more people to come out, thus providing more eyes on the art. Getting rid of the food trucks doesn't give anymore business to the already packed businesses within the area. It will drive people away. However it looks like that's what they want to do.

I like the idea of trying to find ways to extend the boarders of artwalk. Broadway is a good idea. Unfortunately in that area, aside from the 7-11 it's a ghost town at night. Most of the businesses are closed. There's not enough open spaces to put art and keep people moving along Broadway. Pershing Square is another good idea, but it's a matter of being able to use Pershing Square and getting people over there.