To the Miami Herald:

Congratulations for using coverage of Macy Florida CEO Julie Greiner’s comments as a springboard to open an important dialogue about the problems plaguing downtown. But there seems to be a crucial element missing from that dialogue, which is the way in which gentrification devastated Miami’s arts community, and, if the city acts boldly to rectify this, the critical role that the return of the cultural arts can play in the rebirth of downtown.

That the arts community brings life to urban centers has been amply demonstrated by the groundbreaking work of Richard Florida, Ph.D., a professor of regional economic development at Columbia University, who writes extensively about the integral role of the arts in urban life.  Also, a survey performed by the nonpartisan Urban Institute, which looked at five US communities, found that the arts serve as an important bridge to civic participation.

We living in Miami do not need to look to academicians or economic studies to bolster the claim that the arts can revitalize downtown. We only need to look around.  We have repeatedly seen that with boom times come skyrocketing rents, driving away the artists away. The City of Miami Beach is a prime example of this. The arts led the rebirth of this city, turning it into a glitzy destination belonging now primarily to the affluent. City officials, recognizing this, have carved out a cultural arts overlay district (CANDO) to create affordable housing for artists. They learned that if you provide a haven for the arts, everything else follows -- the developers, the retailers, the customers, and, most important, the residents.

The Carnival Center for the Performing Arts demonstrates Miami-Dade County’s commitment to the arts, but this still leaves in its shadow dozens of smaller arts organizations.  The government and the private sector need to work together to make sure that the artists are not left out. A good start would be to offer unused downtown space to these organizations for a nominal rent. These groups can hold the performances, gallery openings, concerts and more, that will bring the people there.

This is only one suggestion; there are doubtless others. But the most important thing is to make the arts community part of the dialogue, as we all search together to find ways to make downtown blossom.

Sincerely,
Harvey J. Burstein,
chair and the board of directors, Miami Beach Arts Trust

MBAT News

The Miami Beach Arts Trust invites you to join its unique cultural organization.  The Trust, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation was established in 1999 by the City of Miami Beach to work with community leaders to raise funds for the arts. MBAT has now separated its operations from the city’s Cultural Affairs Council and refocused its mission to serve as a fundraising organization and strong advocate for the arts in our community.

The mission of the Miami Beach Arts Trust is to ensure that Miami Beach will continue to be a community where diverse artists, artistic programs and cultural organizations will thrive. Toward that end we will build public support and awareness for the arts by providing issues and information, and encouraging public participation in arts and culture.

The Miami Beach Arts Trust has initiated MiamiARTzine.com, an  innovative  bi-weekly e-zine that has become a voice in the Miami Dade arts scene. In addition the Trust will host a Brown Bag Lunchtime Series and the newly organized Evening Bag Receptions featuring topics of relevance to the cultural arts community.

We invite you to join and help sustain this dedicated community effort. Members will receive invitations to all MBAT events, notices of community happenings and occasional offers of tickets for local performances.

We thank you for your consideration of our request and hope that you will share your voice in ensuring a future for Miami Beach’s arts community.

Harvey J. Burstein, Chair

Miami Beach Arts Trust
Mail to: Miami Beach Arts Trust
PO Box 402584
Miami Beach, FL 33140

contact by email: Miami Beach Arts Trust