Letter: Byfield, a vision for the arts in Bristol

Posted 12/21/18

When the majority tenants of the Byfield School — an ad hoc group of artists, writers, designers, composers, and non-profit arts organizations — organized as BADG (Byfield Arts and Design …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Letter: Byfield, a vision for the arts in Bristol

Posted

When the majority tenants of the Byfield School — an ad hoc group of artists, writers, designers, composers, and non-profit arts organizations — organized as BADG (Byfield Arts and Design Group) and won the RFP before the town council in 2014, it was perfectly clear that Byfield would be used as a studio building, not commercial retail spaces. This important distinction factors into the award of grant money currently being used to repair the building.

The Bristol Phoenix’s coverage on Nov. 29 of one disgruntled Byfield tenant is misleading and suspect. That tenant’s business, though arts and crafts related, relied on off-the-street costumers in a non-elevator building. She moved into Byfield from a pricier storefront on High Street. The article suggests her expectations were more in line with commercial retail space.

All other studio tenants don’t expect commercial amenities and are happy to cooperate with construction inconveniences. Still, one can understand the tenant’s frustrations, as stipulations for Byfield have not been consistent. But there was no deliberate mistreatment against her by the Town; it simply wasn’t a good fit.

The editors of the Phoenix, however, by making it front-page news, did exploit this tenant and isolated incident to serve its own agenda — to misrepresent the majority tenants and criticize the Town of Bristol’s handling of the school buildings on a page six editorial.

The editorial repeatedly insisted the Town get out of the private real estate market, then contradictorily suggested Bristol hire a management company to do just that, only by proxy. This would make the Town in competition with commercial landlords.

If the artists and designers in Byfield and Reynolds were to vacate tomorrow, none would rent the empty retail spaces in Bristol. Rather, Bristol would lose even more of its artists to Warren or Fall River.
The Town of Bristol and the Bristol Phoenix should focus on solving the problems of Bristol’s perennially empty storefronts, before criticizing an idea that enriches our community and has saved two decommissioned historic schools on the Town Commons from falling into ruin — like the fate of Walley School.

Fact is, the Town of Bristol benefits from Byfield’s current use. The grant Bristol received to fix the chimney and repoint the bricks that Town Administrator Steven Contente mentioned in the front-page article was from the Champlin Foundation — a private philanthropy that gives capital grants to arts organizations. Bristol received a $53,950 Arts Grant for: “chimney repairs at the former Byfield School now housing an artist collaborative.”

The Town of Bristol got those funds because Byfield is a studio building. Surely the Town is not misrepresenting its intentions to the Champlin Foundation and exploiting its artists for building improvements! And surely this information contradicts the page-six editorial’s somewhat derogatory contention that the building is not sustainable with “low-rent artists who call it home.”
We should be thanking the artists who have organized there!

There are many ways these buildings, as currently used, can be sustainable and profitable, and not burden taxpayers or private landlords. There are successful precedents all over the world involving converted schools for the arts. The most famous of which, Public School #1 in Queens New York, went from a nonprofit arts space to become an annex of The Museum of Modern Art: MoMA PS1.

Historically, artist communities are the advance guard of city and town revitalization. Cities and towns across America have spent millions enlivening their communities by creating and supporting arts districts. Study after study, case after case, has proven this stimulates the economy, attracts businesses, residents, and tourists, while enriching quality of life. This is fact, not pie in the sky.

Sure, the transition of our school buildings into art-design spaces didn’t go perfectly. To keep every space occupied, some were hastily rented to small businesses, sending a confusing message to the public. Perhaps the town should collaborate with an arts non-profit to help guide tenant leases and apply for more improvement grants that only a non-profit qualifies for. Either way, let’s return to the original vision-plan and implement it responsibly.

Why not next time a front-page article singing the praises of the Byfield/Reynolds community and what they’ve done for Bristol — a well-deserved, constructive story on the Community String Project, the Bristol Theatre Company, RWU Senior Art Studios, or any one of the creatives renting space in those buildings? Collectively, their achievements, performances, exhibitions, publications, fellowships, awards, and community contributions are beyond impressive.

It’s time for the Town of Bristol to publicly and enthusiastically get behind and formalize its actions as per the original RFP. And time for the Bristol Phoenix to constructively support the large number of residents working tirelessly in the arts to make Bristol an even better place to live and work and visit for all.

Bradley Wester
Bristol

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
MIKE REGO

Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.