Maria Rosario Jackson began her research on cities and urban planning by asking people what a postcard of Syracuse would look like.

 

Jackson works for the Urban Institute, a national organization that collects data on social and economic issues. She spoke Friday about her research on enlivening an area in a way that promotes creativity for the average citizen. Her speech was part of the Creative City Forum at the Warehouse hosted by Imagining American, CNYSpeaks and the New York Council for the Humanities. The forum was aimed at having residents brainstorm to make the city more engaging, accessible and vibrant.

 

‘Arts and culture really is at the heart of what a community is. It gives a community its heart, its pulse, it’s meaning,’ Jackson said.

 

Imagining America is a consortium of colleges and universities that supports campus-community partnerships. They are currently based at Syracuse University. CNYSpeaks is a local organization focused on dialoguing with community members about critical issues in Central New York.

 

‘Often arts and culture is understood very narrowly,’ Jackson said.

 

Cultural participation can take many forms and can happen anywhere, she said.

 

Those at the forum offered many different ideas for ways to be culturally expressive.

 

Daniel Aguilera, a graduate student in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, suggested painting murals in downtown Syracuse to enliven the area.

 

‘People feel more part of a community having murals they can relate to. You know there is a community there that speaks your language,’ Aguilera said.

 

Aguilera also suggested creating a homemade community cookbook that could be a collaborative effort between the university, the community and the city’s public schools.

 

Marilyn Higgins, vice president of economic development at Syracuse University, said her time with the Near Westside Initiative illustrated that art is an important pillar of revitalizing a community. Higgins said it is important to engage the youth population in the city as well as unite various ethnic groups. She suggested a joint project between Syracuse University students and elementary school students to create books about their neighborhoods.

 

Dan O’Leary, a Syracuse resident, thought that the thousands of vacant homes in the city could be turned into an artistic project.

 

‘We should let artists go out and put their statements on these homes since they’re going to be torn down anyway,’ he said.

 

Cohen-Cruz said there were a number of very good ideas presented at the forum, however, it comes down to having a person behind the idea who is passionate about making that idea a reality. She said that there are also a number of challenges that come with starting a new project.

 

Attendees also discussed the challenges with putting some of the ideas for revitalization in place.

Some criticized the disconnect between the youth and the arts, and said there needs to be a way for people to make creativity economically stimulating.

 

They also noted the programs in place set to connect the different communities do not reach enough people. Another focus group also brought up that fact that it took Imagining America six months to get a permit for the Art in Motion event they planned for this weekend.

 

‘Creativity is a natural impulse – everyone has it and there is an active or latent demand to express it,’ Jackson said. ‘There is something about our culture that leads us to stifle that impulse. But it’s there; it doesn’t go away.’

 

kjmarren@syr.edu

 

 

Published on September 10, 2010 at 12:00 pm