Filling Empty Spaces is in the Air

About a month ago Clara sent me the link to the No Vacancy Project.  

From their website

 Exploring temporary use of empty spaces in the Central Eastside Industrial District

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This spring LocusLab, a team of PSU Urban & Regional Planning graduate students, will be working with the Central Eastside Industrial Council to investigate the potential to enliven the Central Eastside Industrial District by activating vacant spaces with temporary activities & developments.

Empty spaces can pose difficult challenges, but their uncertain futures also present unique opportunities.  Vacant lots & buildings have the potential to serve as laboratories to test out new ideas for art, business & social enterprises. Food cart nodes, art installations, green technology demos & mobile workshop spaces are just a few of the many temporary use projects emerging in vacant spaces.

I cannot wait to see what they accomplish! I am so excited others are finding the potential in empty spaces! Please check them out! 

Is your Window Empty?

Is your window empty? 

You are not alone.

It is happening all over the city.

Empty windows look unsightly

attract vandalism

and destract from the beauty of our public spaces.

What else could these spaces be?

Imagine turning your empty window into something beautiful

While helping Portland art and design thrive.

Right now everyone is struggling

Artists and designers are losing  space to show their work

with each store closing.

While you wait for a new occupant what could your window be?

A display space for handmade jewelry

A piece by a local designer

                                            

A Hand knit Wedding Dress

Drawings

or

Sculpture

Or Fine Art Photography?

The Possibilities are Endless...

Our Proposal

In these shifting economic times, businesses unable to weather the hardships are closing all over town. Storefronts are emptying and for sale and rent signs are going up as window displays go down. Empty windows are more than a sign of difficult times, statistics show that they can also be an invitation to crime.

 We are local designers, artists, window stylists and urban planners and we have an idea that we believe will change our city—including improving your ability to do business.  But it won’t work without your help. 

"Traipse Pass" is based on the concept that if a window is full – with an art installation, or a local fashion designer’s display – then morale will improve, community will grow and spaces will become more appealing to potential renters. We are interested in creating window displays promoting LOCAL artists, designers, models, stylists, photographers, makeup artists, hair stylists and window dressers in locations all over the city.  

 While it is new to Portland, this idea has already taken root all over the world. For example, on South Street in Philadelphia, property owners are turning over vacant storefronts to artists, hoping the creative community will again breathe new life into a neighborhood it brought back from the brink in the 1970s.  “We never imagined we'd have so many takers for the spaces," said Stephen Giannascoli, an agent for one of South Street's property owners. "People are very excited about this." See http://www.morungexpress.com/features/16323.html

 

In the town of Stroud, England, local councilors have found a way to make use of the empty spaces left behind by closing businesses, while attracting people to their main street  "Derelict shop windows are being used by artists to display their work in return for them giving the shop front a makeover, making it more appealing to tenants." See http://uk.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=99890&feedType=videos&feedName=Business&videoChannel=5

 

As in Philadelphia and Stroud, this is an opportunity for downtown Portland.  We have the power to maintain our city’s unique commitment and promotion of all things local, build community and maintain the beauty of our beloved public spaces.

 If you are a property manager or building  owner, and would like to find out how to participate, Please email us! traipsepass@gmail.com