Harnessing art to spur entrepreneurship in Live6

Each year, close to three million dogs and cats are killed in shelters - in some cities more than 70 percent of the animals in shelters are euthanized. Target Zero is a program that works with fellow cities to spay and neuter animals and return them to the streets. Public complaints about animals have plummeted, and many shelters are well on their way to achieving a 'zero-kill' status.

The Live6 area is home to a robust cultural and creative community. And with an increase in development, there's opportunity for artists and institutions to tap into that energy to spur growth.

In order to address dynamics that may keep a child from talking about traumatic experiences, a Mexico City-based child psychologist developed Antennas. Antennas is an animated character controlled and voiced by the psychologist who, as an alien, can ask basic questions about people and relationships. This approach has been effective for psychologists and use of Antennas has spread to the judicial system as well.

By mapping links onto satellite imagery, Radio Garden provides an easy way to listen to the online broadcasts of radio stations around the world. Through these broadcasts, a listener can expand their cultural awareness in a direct, entertaining way that reinforces common humanity while retaining distinct individuality.

Equal Voice Network looked at low voter turnout rates in El Paso and decided that just registering voters wasn’t enough. The coalition developed a creative way to increase education and engagement in local issues: a game. Votería is a play off of Lotería, a traditional Mexican pastime similar to bingo, with updated images and text explaining key current issues and political figures.

The project No estamos todas (“We are not all here”) was founded to call attention to rising rate of female homicide victims in Mexico as well as to commemorate victim’s lives. Artists are commissioned to make a woman’s portrait—often incorporating aspects of their lives—and these portraits are shared on the project’s Instagram account. Since November of 2017, over 80 portraits have been made and shared.

The diverse Frogtown neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota is filled with immigrants from all over the world. However, warning signs of gentrification are hinting at rising home prices that threaten the affordability of the area for its long-time residents. To ensure the neighborhood’s vision for the future is clear and accessible, local artists transformed the small area plan into a graphic novel that is helping residents have a voice in their community’s future.

Eau Claire, Wisconsin, once a booming Midwestern industrial town, began to struggle after manufacturing plants closed, leading to job loss and blight downtown. However, recent years have shown urban renewal, and it is clear that arts saved the city. The proposed Confluence Arts Center has already led to $120 million in investment in the heart of Eau Claire’s downtown. Economic growth, further enhanced by the Eaux Claires Music Festival each year, has put the city on a path to revitalization.

To help develop the arts scene and also increase economic development in the North Shore area of Staten Island, one family formed a non-profit organization to renovate the St. George Theatre and build it up as a revitalized performing arts space. Since 2004 when the theatre was reopened, the area has seen economic growth, and data supports the idea that cities with arts and cultural resources make for healthier and happier communities.

Arts education programs in the United States are subjected to cutting for maintaining tight school budgets. Technology sectors in Seattle seek professionals who have been trained in problem solving skills and innovative idea generation. In response, Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture collaborate to promote equity in students’ access to the arts.