Arts and Cultural Collaborative

A new collaborative entity called Arts Alive! has been created to support arts and culture within the Monadnock Region. This group is poised to lead the support, coordination and promotion of arts and culture within Keene as well. It could offer artists or groups assistance and training in the business aspects of their creative pursuits, maintain a database directory, help coordinate event calendars, take on promotion and help solicit external funding for the community. The community should support Arts Alive! with financial and other resources to ensure the group’s longevity and success in growing the creative economy of Keene and the region.

Rochester, NY – Neighborhood of the Arts (NOTA): Home of ARTWalk

When plans were announced in 1998 to reconstruct a popular avenue, residents, business owners, artists, city officials and design consultants collaborated on an innovative design plan to highlight the areas artistic assets while creating a walkable neighborhood. That work led to ARTWalk and the development of the Neighborhood of the Arts (NOTA).

ARTWalk is a wide, decorative sidewalk stamped with artistic designs creating an aesthetically lovely trail that connects cultural institutions, studios, galleries and shops in the vibrant district. Public art, music, dance, poetry, and gardens flourish along the public walkway.

“Art in Transit” highlights three artistically designed bus shelters along the avenue and a sculpture exhibit called ROSE (Rochester Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit) extends up and down the avenue, commissioned and rotated on an annual basis.

NOTA came about through the utilization of vacant warehouses and neglected buildings in the heart of Rochester's cultural district. These buildings were adaptively reused and renovated, creating low-cost studios and affordable live/work places for artists, musicians and other creative professions. The creative community in NOTA meets regularly to network and discuss how to strengthen the neighborhood and its assets.