Page 10 - BusinessWest August 8, 2022

Editorial
The Arts Are a Critical Resource
BusinessWest
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As the ArtsHub story unfolds, the initial chapters will be about recovery — specifically, recovery from a pandemic that disrupted the arts landscape at a level few other industries were ravaged.
Performing arts in particular took a shot they’re still reeling from, with concerts, theater, and dance having returned to live experiences less than a year ago after, in many cases, 18 to 24 months of being unable to connect with audiences in person. Art galleries and museums went through a similar cycle, as did all kinds of media production.
So when ArtsHub of Western Mass went online in January (see story on page 36), creatives of all kinds were craving the connec- tions the ArtsHub website and database provides. The network, which allows artists to link with each other across the region to find talent, resources, and much more, was built with recovery in mind, and in that sense, it has been a success, with more than 2,500 members already engaged and interacting.
But that’s just the first chapter.
Phase 1 of the project involved creating a platform to organize existing arts-related information in the region and pull it into one central place. Phase 2, which is ongoing, is all about making sure all creatives in the region — visual artists, sculptors, writers, musi- cians, actors, dancers, producers, photographers, and many more — are visible on the site and actively using the ArtsHub platform to list opportunities, spaces, events, jobs, and other information.
That’s not just a response to a pandemic; that’s a long-term strategy to connect artists and deepen relationships in this com- munity that’s so critical to the Western Mass. economy and quality of life. In fact, one study suggests that one in six jobs in the Valley is tied to the creative economy.
Opinion
“All these entities need a resource like
ArtsHub, and Western Mass. needs its creatives
to survive, thrive, and keep creating — and
keep connecting. They faced down a massive
threat to their livelihood, and the region was
poorer for it, albeit temporarily. But now it’s
”
So it’s heartening to see so much arts activity rumbling back to life these days after two years of relative dormancy, from the multi- day Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival in August to concerts at the Drake in Amherst and Gateway City Arts in Holyoke; from mural projects and small art-gallery exhibitions to live theater at Shake- speare & Co. in Lenox and live dance at Jacob’s Pillow in Becket — not to mention all the solo artists creating quietly in their homes and small businesses.
All these entities need a resource like ArtsHub, and Western Mass. needs its creatives to survive, thrive, and keep creating — and keep connecting. They faced down a massive threat to their livelihood, and the region was poorer for it, albeit temporarily. But now it’s time to shine again. v
time to shine again.
New Parking Garage Is a Sign of Progress
The jersey barriers have gone up on Harrison Place, Dwight Street, and Bruce Landon Way.
They inform us that the Civic Center Parking Garage will soon be coming down — slowly and carefully, we’re told, because there just isn’t much real estate around it to accommodate demolition and all that comes with it.
All we can say is, ‘it’s about time.’
Often, but not always, with demoli- tion, there is a sense of loss when it comes to what is being torn down to make way
for the new. It was like that when the old Forbes & Wallace department store came down to make way for what is now Mon- arch Place. And while you’d have to be pret- ty old to remember, it was like that when the Everett Barney mansion had to be torn down because it was in the path of I-91.
It certainly wasn’t like that when the Hotel Charles, an eyesore for decades, came down well in advance of the Union Station complex in the North End, or with a number of older industrial properties that were demolished to make way for the new Basketball Hall of Fame along the
riverfront.
And it certainly won’t be like that with
the parking garage, except for Springfield Thunderbirds management, who face the start of a new season in just a few months with no parking garage next to the arena. Indeed, the Civic Center garage, the workhorse facility that had served the city for nearly a half-century, had become the butt of jokes in recent years as increasingly larger blocks of its space were declared unsafe for parking.
More than that, the garage had become a symbol, if you will, of what you could call the ‘old Springfield,’ the city that was in receivership, the city that had hit rock bot- tom in terms of both perception and reality when it came to vibrancy and this being a place where people and businesses wanted to be.
As new developments emerged — MGM Springfield, Union Station, redevelopment of the old Peter Pan Bus terminal, and oth- ers — the Civic Center garage remained a crumbling symbol of what was. In recent years, as larger sections were rendered unusable, many who came to downtown
every day found other places to park. It was only during college graduations, T-Birds games, the Bay Path Women’s Leadership Conference, and other large gatherings that the garage was a real asset for the city.
Now, after years of elected officials talk- ing about it and considering several alter- native sites, the garage is coming down to make way for a new, state-of-the-art facil- ity on that same footprint. There will be some disruption downtown, but not much. Indeed, with many people still working remotely or in hybrid situations, there is plenty of parking downtown to handle what would be considered ‘routine’ days.
Things will get more dicey for the larger events, especially the hockey games. But the disruption will be well worth the even- tual benefit — a modern facility in keeping with what the city has become and what
it hopes to be in the years and decades to come.
The garage is coming down, and a sym- bol of the ‘old Springfield’ is coming down with it. v
10 AUGUST 8, 2022
OPINION
BusinessWest