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Health & Fitness

Transforming Empty Storefronts from a Negative to a Positive

Article regarding Window and Pop-Up Gallery methods and their promise in revitalization efforts.

Those of us that have been following the progress of the Main Street efforts know  that despite all of the great things that have been going on in the district over the last few years, we've still got quite a few vacant store fronts.

These are mostly the result of the tough economic times, but, as most of us know, they can really detract from the beauty of the district, often overshadow  the positive progress made, and add to the challenges facing both the building owners and the City itself. Not only are t hey unpleasant for us to look at, but they taint the image of the building they reside in; making it more difficult for the owners to market the their spaces and attract new tenants. This, in turn, makes it hard for the City to market Woonsocket's Arts and Main Street Districts.

What if I told you there was a simple, proven method  that could satisfy all parties involved? Well, there is. There's two actually. Their known as the "Window Gallery" and "Pop-Up Gallery" methods. They basically work like this:

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  1. We get into the empty spaces and clean them out really well.
    1. If necessary, throw a layer of paint over the space to give it a "clean" feel. Do the same to the exterior window areas if necessary.
    2. Find some local artists willing to display their work in the windows or inside the spaces. There's plenty of artists in the area. The Woonsocket Arts Guild actually has experience with this sort of thing already.
      1. Using just the windows is the "Window Gallery" method, whereas using the whole space is the "Pop-Up Gallery" method.
      2. Plug in some lights (not ugly ones) to light up the work (I suggest an automatic timer so a person won't have to turn them on and off every day). 
      3. Viola! Suddenly the building is a "Sidewalk Gallery" and everyone's happy.

We citizens  love it because now an eyesore has been removed  and we now have some beautiful art to look at. The building owner is happy because their space is now much more marketable with minimal expense, they've gained some goodwill in the eyes of the community, and have built relationships with local artists which could come in handy down the road. The City's happy because their district now looks great and has incorporated Art into the strategy.

I think we have some great storefronts which would fit perfectly into this strategy and I know many of us would lend our sweat equity to getting projects like this done. Can you picture it? It'd be great! Here are some articles about similar endeavors to help solidify the idea:

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Article3

If you're a building owner, or know of one, and you like the sound of this strategy, send me an email @ commercialcorridors@neighborworksbrv.org so we can get started. If you're a citizen who'd like to help us prep some these spaces, please contact me as well. Can you imagine if all our empty spaces did this? It would change everything!!

Thanks for reading, Woonsocket. See ya out there!

- Shane

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