A Downtown Vision
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What’s next? An entire city block
brimming with the arts?
By Carolyn Kranzler
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DIVA’s building, owned by Connor & Woolley,
is at a prime downtown corner at
Broadway and Olive.
TED TAYLOR
IVA, the Downtown Initiative for
the Visual Arts, began its efforts
about three years ago to bring the
visual arts into parity with the performing
arts in the greater Eugene community.
Its establishment at 110 W. Broadway in
November 2003 has created a cultural com-
munity center with classes, lectures, exhibi-
tions, performances, and artists’ services. It
has a growing multi-media and film program
that has attracted and built a young audience.
DIVA has received national recognition for
these activities. As a purely bootstrap effort
DIVA has been successful beyond the
dreams of its founders. Our programs cur-
rently bring 1,000 people a month through
our doors and DIVA is progressing in its goal
to become self-supporting.
DIVA’s mission is to be a “catalyst for
visual arts activities in downtown Eugene”
and it has been effective in its mission.
Collaborative efforts have been most suc-
cessful and have put to rest the fears of many
that our efforts would dilute, weaken or
compete with existing arts organizations. We
firmly believe that all arts activities strength-
en the cultural life of our community.
Downtown Eugene Inc. is working
toward a marketing program to brand down-
town as a regional arts center, and Robb
Hankins, the director of cultural services for
the City of Eugene, is promoting Eugene as
“the World’s Greatest City for the Arts and
the Outdoors.” Funding for support and sig-
nage should be seriously considered from
our city councilors and the Budget
Committee for both these efforts.
I’m writing, however, to speculate on
what’s next. With the rumors and discussion
of future change and development in down-
town Eugene, I want to encourage us, as a
community, to think of the next step and to
be engaged in the decision-making.
An arts facility such as DIVA has been
included in the recent city of Eugene
Downtown Plan. Of course there are no
funds to provide such a facility at this time.
Typically a capital campaign would be
organized to raise funds, but perhaps there is
another way. I’d like to propose exploration
of other opportunities such as a public-pri-
vate partnership. This is a strategy that has
been successful in many other cities.
Recognizing that typical retail develop-
ment is not currently working in our down-
town, can we forge a partnership to encour-
age private commercial development to
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include a visual arts center? Can we find
investors in this concept? Can we encourage
our Planning Department to use its tools to
leverage our progress and secure a perma-
nent location for the visual arts downtown? I
believe we can fill an entire city block with
arts and related activities.
Consider the possibility of a truly com-
prehensive visual arts center and the activity
it would create. Let’s bring together DIVA,
Maude Kerns Art Center, the Eugene Glass
School, the Lane Arts Council office and a
sculpture and ceramics facility. Add class-
rooms and exhibition spaces, a rental gallery,
a small lecture and performance hall, an
experimental/independent film theater, an art
supplies store, and studio space for artists. A
major component would be a large “art” film
theater. Consider too a sculpture garden and
room for storage and display of a regional art
collection. Within the downtown we already
have in place parking structures, a bus tran-
sit center, and an arts resource library.
It is time to begin serious discussions of
possibilities, specific properties, investors,
private developers and city of Eugene partic-
ipation. I invite you to take the initiative and
join DIVA to work for development that
includes a visual arts center and an arts-
active downtown.
■
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Carolyn Kranzler is an architect, arts advocate, past-
president of City Club of Eugene and one of the founders
of DIVA and a current member of its board.
Sponsored by the UO Cultural Forum,
Eugene Media Action (a committee of
Eugene PeaceWorks), Eugene Weekly,
Northwest Media Project, Speakers
Clearinghouse and Justice Not War
Coalition. For more information call
541-484-9167
MAY 19, 2005 13