“White Night”: Gentrification, Racial Exclusion, and Perceptions and Participation in the Arts

Abstract

Art festivals are a feature of many urban districts undergoing gentrification; they help to catalyze change by drawing a set of consumers with particular cultural interests. This article examines whether the arts produce racial exclusions by examining long‐term Black and White residents’ participation in and perceptions of the monthly Last Thursday Art Walks in Portland's gentrifying Alberta Arts District. We use surveys to measure arts participation and follow‐up, in‐depth interviews to understand whether long‐time residents feel excluded by the arts, and if race is a factor. We find that Black residents participate less in Last Thursdays than White residents, and they often feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. We conclude that the arts‐anchored symbolic economy results in racial exclusions that have little to do with differences in arts appreciation, but much to do with perceptions of people associated with the arts, and with residents’ abilities to use the arts to identify with neighborhood changes.

Gentrification and the Right to the City: Community Conflict and Casinos

“…No longer the hit or miss island of opportunity that it was in the 1980s (Berry, ), gentrification is becoming ubiquitous. Although gentrification is becoming more common it is not without either conflict or controversy, particularly at the neighborhood level (Butler, ; Deener, ; Mazer & Rankin, ; Shaw & Sullivan, ; Spain, ). Growth machines may like gentrification but people often do not.…”

On the Enactment of Roundabout Art: A Praxeological Analysis

“…), could potentially be seen as art in the public space (Guy ). Although “public space is a diffuse, rather than analytical concept” (Haas and Olsson :62), it is used to denote “a physical site of interaction—a site defined as much by norms, expectations and perceptions as by reference to material settings” (Cassegard :689), which is more or less accessible to the public and which is produced “in part on the basis of visual representations that reflect the cultures and interests of particular groups, often at the expense of others” (Shaw and Sullivan :242). While roundabout art does by necessity have to be placed in an accessible outdoor space, it is only deemed to be public art when it creates spaces “within which people can identify themselves, perhaps by creating a renewed reflection on community” (Sharp et al.…”

Putting Artists on the Map: The Geography of Artists in Cuyahoga County, Ohio

“…These include the nature of gentrification in various locales, levels of associated displacement, costs and benefits, and winners and losers (Freeman, 2006; Freeman & Braconi, 2004; Kennedy & Leonard, 2001; Lees, Wyly, & Slater, 2007). While a full examination of this body of writing is beyond the purview of this article, it is important to note that scholars continue to investigate the links between artists and gentrification and the class and race implications of artist‐driven revitalization (Lloyd, 2011; Shaw & Sullivan, 2011; Sullivan & Shaw, 2011; Zukin, 2009). It is also essential to recognize that these studies continue to address pressing concerns of neighborhood displacement in growing and/or stable urban markets, where affordable housing and demand for space is at a premium.…”

“…Rather, there is a research bias toward large, booming metropolitan areas such as New York City, Los Angeles, or Chicago (Clark et al, 2002; Currid, 2007a, 2007b; Lloyd, 2005; Mele, 2000; Molotch, 1996; Rantisi, 2004; Scott, 1996; Zukin, 1982; Zukin, 2009). Only a small number of studies analyze the importance of the arts and patterns of arts/artist clusters in moderate‐sized cities, such as Shaw and Sullivan's (2011) and Sullivan and Shaw's (2011) analysis of Portland, Oregon's Alberta Arts District and Lloyd's (2011) ethnography of Nashville's East Side. While this is a marked improvement in the breadth of urban arts literature, these studies still focus on growing and/or economically stable cities.…”