Art Map Burlington, August 2006

GO NORTH!

The Old North End has a lot going for it. The neighborhood is charming with lots of old buildings. These are not the buildings that jump out at you, but the ones you discover one day as you’re walking down North Street and some architectural detail catches your eye. The Old North End is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the state, a mix of resettled refugees, working class people, gay men and lesbians, and families. The artists who live and work there do so mostly out of their homes. There is little commercial space in this primarily residential neighborhood.

As long as I can remember, the Old North End has been in a constant state of revitalization, always on the verge of becoming something better, cleaner, different than it is. On the verge is not quite across the threshold.

In 2005, Sage Tucker-Ketcham opened a studio and gallery at 64 North Street, Studio STK. Her presence has made a difference on North Street. By operating a gallery and offering classes and camps, she has brought people into the neighborhood who wouldn’t have reason to go there. Her active events calendar is building a community of people who love, support, or make art. She is also building a network of other Old North End businesses and getting people talking.

Art gives people a reason to come together, a reason to explore new terrains. Artists, not only with their studios and galleries but also with their energy and community spirit, act like mortar binding bricks and blocks together. A neighborhood is a wilderness and does not change on its own accord. People make it change and they need a reason, a vehicle, in which that change can occur.

In the South End, Burlington has learned a salient lesson about the role art plays in neighborhood revitalization. Whether or not those lessons can be, or will be, applied in the Old North End depends on the motivation of political power, the engagement of business leaders, and a willingness on the part of the community to evolve. Most importantly, the indifference towards the Old North End and placing bureaucratic obedience over and above meaningful change may just prove to be the Old North End’s greatest barrier to revitalization.

Art has a way of transcending these petty distractions. At the end of the day, the neighborhood is better when a mural is put on the side of a building, a piece of sculpture is installed in a park, or a gallery has an opening and fifty people come out to see paintings hanging on a wall.

So head North and see for yourself. Paraphrasing the words of Gillian Welch, the Old North End is an indisguisable shade of twilight, and any second now it’s gonna turn itself on, and in the blue display of its cool cathode ray, we can dream a highway back to there.

RIC KASINI KADOUR

Art Map Burlington ARTICLE
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Sage Tucker-Ketcham is making a difference, one painting at a time. photo credit: Ric Kasini Kadour		GO NORTH! The Old North End has a lot going for it. The neighborhood is charming with lots of old buildings. These are not the buildings that jump out at you, but the ones you discover one day as you’re walking down North Street and some architectural detail catches your eye. The Old North End is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the state, a mix of resettled refugees, working class people, gay men and lesbians, and families. The artists who live and work there do so mostly out of their homes. There is little commercial space in this primarily residential neighborhood. As long as I can remember, the Old North End has been in a constant state of revitalization, always on the verge of becoming something better, cleaner, different than it is. On the verge is not quite across the threshold. In 2005, Sage Tucker-Ketcham opened a studio and gallery at 64 North Street, Studio STK. Her presence has made a difference on North Street. By operating a gallery and offering classes and camps, she has brought people into the neighborhood who wouldn’t have reason to go there. Her active events calendar is building a community of people who love, support, or make art. She is also building a network of other Old North End businesses and getting people talking. Art gives people a reason to come together, a reason to explore new terrains. Artists, not only with their studios and galleries but also with their energy and community spirit, act like mortar binding bricks and blocks together. A neighborhood is a wilderness and does not change on its own accord. People make it change and they need a reason, a vehicle, in which that change can occur. In the South End, Burlington has learned a salient lesson about the role art plays in neighborhood revitalization. Whether or not those lessons can be, or will be, applied in the Old North End depends on the motivation of political power, the engagement of business leaders, and a willingness on the part of the community to evolve. Most importantly, the indifference towards the Old North End and placing bureaucratic obedience over and above meaningful change may just prove to be the Old North End’s greatest barrier to revitalization. Art has a way of transcending these petty distractions. At the end of the day, the neighborhood is better when a mural is put on the side of a building, a piece of sculpture is installed in a park, or a gallery has an opening and fifty people come out to see paintings hanging on a wall. So head North and see for yourself. Paraphrasing the words of Gillian Welch, the Old North End is an indisguisable shade of twilight, and any second now it’s gonna turn itself on, and in the blue display of its cool cathode ray, we can dream a highway back to there. RIC KASINI KADOUR

Art Map Burlington is a publication of Kasini House, Inc. info@kasinihouse.com Copyright © 2006 Kasini House. All Rights Reserved