Why?

Based on the success of Pittsfield, Massachusetts’ StorefrontArtists project, the City of Fall River recognized the need in our downtown as well as the similarity in demographics to the city of Pittsfield. A group of artists came together to start the planning for this innovative collaboration between the public and private sector.

To borrow unabashedly from the Pittsfield website:

Thanks to the Storefront we are finding that empty, raw, commercial spaces, spaces with funky carpeting, worn linoleum, stray pigeons and florescent lighting have taken on an enriching and civilizing patina. Installations, paintings, sculptures, works in progress and an assortment of inscrutable bits and pieces inhabit and flourish in these environs. Temporary and transitory studio/exhibition spaces spring up, show themselves to the public and disappear. Each replaced by another artist, gallery, event or enterprise. Change is the constant. Local and indigenous writers, filmmakers, musicians and visual artists have come together with folks hailing from the outer territories, artists themselves who have been drawn to this inventive mix, resulting in an unprecedented and savory melange. [...]

Theatre and cinema are reestablishing themselves along North Street bringing with them other businesses and a wider audience. The Storefront, initially focused on North Street, has spread throughout the arteries of downtown Pittsfield into new neighborhoods and buildings. [...]

We hope to fuel the economic development of the city of Fall River with a focus on the arts and real opportunities for working artists, and will put plans in place to help artists continue to work in our community, instead of getting priced out in a number of years, as the “Soho” cycle perpetuates. Cities like Pittsfield MA, Lowell MA, Providence and Pawtucket RI, and Baltimore MD provide some models for us to follow, as well as some of the problems we would like to avoid.