Arts – good for the soul and the City of Trees

Amber Grubb

What is summer in the City of Trees without a starlit picnic at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival or a leisurely stroll through Art in the Park? Boise’s arts scene is refreshingly hip: First Thursdays draw artists and patrons to area businesses, and professionals hold meetings over coffee at the Flying M, the venue known for its exhibitions and art-related events.

Last year’s Curb Cup, “The Great Street Circus of Creativity,” attracted thousands to Boise’s downtown core. Not only did musicians, belly dancers and magicians have a captive audience, but restaurateurs benefited from the public’s overwhelming response – on a Sunday, no less.

In “The Arts Ripple Effect,” a report conducted by the Fine Art Fund, researchers illustrate how the arts invigorate a community: arts organizations appear, retail stores emerge, real estate values rise and tourism increases. The arts district becomes the it place, infusing energy into an otherwise lifeless area of town. The arts clearly make for a more livable city.

A connected population

People are interacting and collaborating in the burgeoning Alley Arts and Cultural District. Woman of Steel Gallery is home to monthly poetry slams and workshops, where candid orators increase awareness of cultural and civic issues. Visual Arts Collective’s regular concerts, benefits and exhibitions sparked the Garden City Craft Mafia’s “Church of Craft,” where creative people meet and work. AudioLab Recording Studio is a resource for local musicians and the Reuseum’s community workshops engage the public.

A robust economy, urban redevelopment

The Web site for BoDo’s 8th Street Marketplace touts Boise’s Cultural District as “uniquely historic, delicious, sassy, smart, inspiring [and] contemporary.” It’s no accident this pedestrian-friendly retail hub is among Boise’s most coveted stretches of real estate. Over 10 years ago, the Capital City Development Corporation awarded Boise Contemporary Theater a grant to provide public access space for theater and dance professionals, a turning point for the 8th Street corridor. Like-minded organizations appeared, transforming Boise’s Cultural District into a bustling arts playground.

BoDo’s developer cited the area’s cultural presence as a key component in his interest in the property. In fact, on the cusp of the economic downturn, Trey McIntyre Project declined a $1 million grant to move its headquarters to Boise’s Cultural District. The dance company seems right at home alongside the Esther Simplot Performing Arts Academy – which houses Ballet Idaho, the Boise Philharmonic and Opera Idaho. TMP infuses roughly $1.3 million into the state’s economy every year, while Idaho only contributes 10 percent of the company’s budget, according to John Michael Schert, executive director and dancer.

Today, retail stores, boutiques and restaurants operate alongside arts-minded entities such as R Grey Gallery, Foothills School of Arts and Sciences, Gallery Alexa Rose and Atomic Treasures. AiR, Boise’s Artist in Residence Program, was so successful after its BoDo launch that it expanded to include additional downtown locations.

Diversity and sense of place

We all contribute to Boise’s cultural fabric, resulting in a vibrant city oozing with diversity and civic pride. Ask yourself, what am I doing to support the arts community? Make First Thursday part of your routine (in May, witness the Modern Hotel transform into artists’ digs). Attend i48. Get your hands dirty during a pottery class. Take a public art tour on your lunch break. Learn what BOSCO means – then experience it. Art raises important questions; find the answers by getting involved.

Amber Grubb, a freelance writer, enjoys her morning coffee under original paintings. She participates in, advocates for and supports the arts in Boise by means of her involvement in Boise Young Professionals and other community organizations.

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