Taking even a cursory glance at the world, it feels like there is an endless list of negative news stories and outright turmoil in our collective ethos. The feeling of helplessness is pervasive and it can truly be daunting to cope with all of it. Of course with the help of technology and social media the drama is directly beamed into our lives everyday so finding even a modest reprieve is difficult. It is too easy for us, marinating in all the muck, to become accustomed to the incessant barrage of negativity.
Here in my hometown of Asheville, North Carolina tensions have steadily risen over the last 5 to 10 years with the gigantic boom we've felt. The city and its citizens are constantly at odds over the direction that the development is taking, the city prioritizing hotels and Air BnB’s over the needs of the local citizens. Affordable housing is consistently on the back burner. Wages are stagnant as we make headlines about the abysmal cost of living, and we have also had our share of unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
But the story of Asheville is not a simple tale of an evil government and the scrappy bohemian underdogs who stand up to these indiscretions, the truth of the matter is messy. Often overlooked and underreported, there are amazing and positive things that the government attempts to do in the wake of such upheaval. Either way I am reminded of the immortal words of Mr. Rogers:
“When I was a boy I would see scary things in the news. My mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
And so we would like to highlight Asheville’s latest attempt to bridge the gap and do some good. Fortunately, the city has seized an opportunity to mend some of this discord through a long term city plan. That plan is to build the Broadway Public Safety Building located at 316 Broadway Street in north Asheville, which broke ground in October of 2021. They have included in this new building, a plan for a large public art installation to be chosen from a pool of local artists.
The new building is meant to be a multipurpose facility, housing a new fire station, and administrative center for emergency services including the police. It will also include a community meeting center at the request of local community input. The goal of this new facility is to allow for emergency services to respond in less than 5 minutes and 12 seconds, 90% of the time. This is an overwhelmingly positive thing for the city of Asheville. This is what we want to see from our tax dollars, services that will benefit all of us that keep our lives and livelihoods secure. But the city took that one extra step in the right direction and included a bid for a public art installation to be put up in tandem as the building enters its final stages of completion. Bids for the contract have closed and the city is in the process of choosing a finalist
The city is offering a pretty standard rate for public art contracts, 1% of the budget, which in this case ends up being a hefty $84,000. The city wants the community to have some buy-in, they want the community to see the building and the art installation as being a part of the community, not an imposing government building. The city has encouraged women and minorities to apply in the hopes that some diversity and inclusion will be represented in the installation. They hope that it will symbolize and foster unity under the literal banner of protection and safety. And we at Art Hero are here for it.
One of the greatest powers humans have found to not only uplift our spirits but also make direct and lasting change, is the power of art. Art can come from many places but regardless of its origin art brings an emotion to life to communicate and even understand those emotions. A piece can invoke tranquility or rebellion depending on the intention of the artist. And so our little city has chosen to build, to inspire, to create change with the power of art.
We have all at some point or another been fortunate enough to experience the power art has to shape our lives. Whether it was a song you heard that got you through a bad break up, or the bright colors of a city mural that lifted your spirits on the way to work, we can all agree that art is monumentally important to society and it is especially important that it be supported by governments at all levels. One of our missions here at Art Hero is to find meaningful ways to support the arts here in asheville, and a big part of what we do comes down to coaching artists on how to get their art/ art business to a place where it is financially sustainable. Another way is advocacy, we try to bring to light and advocate for artists on a higher level. Johanna Patrice Hagarty has sat as a board member of the Public Art and Cultural Commission since 2018.
Needless to say, we see this as a positive move for the city. The power of art is a potent one and one that has been successfully wielded by communities throughout history to enact deep and lasting changes to the lives of their members. We see a new building dedicated to protecting and serving, open to the public, decorated with a symbol for and by the community itself, as a step in the right direction for sure. By harnessing the power of art the city can help mend some of the animosity dividing our little city. It brings with it a ray of hope. And while Art isn’t a panacea that is what it can ultimately do for us, offer hope. This is the light we want to see in the world.
So we would like to say thank you to our City for taking this step, to offer our local artist this opportunity, and to try and say to all of its citizens that they are here for the conversation on how to make things better. For now, that is all we can ask for and for now, that's enough.
Written in collaboration between Kent Spillmann and Johanna Patrice Hagarty
