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Art initiatives put a new spin on economic development

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By Richard O Jones, Staff Writer 10:31 PM Monday, September 28, 2009

Some 40 years ago, Ramesh Malhotra came to the United States from India as a student with less than $40 in his pocket.

“Over the years I’ve made a very good success,” he said. “I feel I have an obligation to pay something back, to create jobs and to help society.”

He was president of a coal company with a branch office in West Chester Twp., then left in 1987 to start a coal brokerage company. Now he has chosen art as a way to change the world around him.

“I don’t play an instrument, but I love music,” he said. “I don’t paint, but I love paintings. I don’t own a camera, but I love photography. I believe in ‘spiritual capitalism,’ that you have to balance your material life with your spiritual life.”

In 1981, Malhotra purchased a Trustworthy Hardware store on Main Street as a present for his father-in-law, who had worked in a hardware store and always dreamed of owning his own. In doing so, he fell in love with small-town life, and has taken the city of Mason, particularly the downtown area of “old Mason,” under his wing.

When his father-in-law retired, he decided to turn the building into an art gallery, now known as Gallery 42.

“I felt that (Mason’s downtown) had a body but needed a soul,” Malhotra said. “Downtowns don’t have to die if they turn the downtown into an art community, to be a center of culture, not a retail center. Retail doesn’t make sense for downtowns anymore. Art gives a good feeling and still generates revenues and gives true richness to the community.”

There are now four galleries in buildings owned by Malhotra, all within walking distance of each other, and a fifth that Malhotra hopes to have open in time for Christmas.

Some Mason officials are hoping that the Art Destination Mason will help revive the area.

“Things have been kind of stagnant in downtown,” said City Council member Don Prince. “Downtown Mason is missing a theme. If you think of downtown Lebanon, for instance, you think ‘antiques,’ but I’m not sure we have a cohesive vision for what our downtown should be, so if the arts can come in and grow to fill in that area, that would be a great thing.”

Many Hamilton officials feel the same way and hope to start a renaissance by focusing on the arts here.

The Artspace movement in Hamilton, however, has taken a somewhat different track, and it is a collaboration between government and non-profit agencies greasing the track for arts development.

In May, Hamilton City Council voted to approve a contract with the Minneapolis-based nonprofit group Artspace USA that includes a commitment of $224,000 to build or renovate a downtown building to provide low-rent space for artists.

“The key word is ‘transformation,’” said Greg Handberg, vice president of properties for Artspace, who will be heading up the search for a site. “If you can imagine a building in downtown Hamilton with the upper floors occupied by 40 to 45 artist families, a ground floor with arts-related businesses and community service businesses, it becomes a grassroots arts community.

“I’ve seen the perception of a downtown shift from a 9-to-5 area to a creative center that is going on 24/7,” he said. “It provides a new point of focus.”

Artspace, which owns and manages around 40 such properties across the United States, first came to the attention of the city through Rick H. Jones, the executive director of the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, who toured an Artspace facility while attending a conference in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

“I was really impressed with the quality of work, quality housing and work space for artists,” he said. “Three mayors ago, I started dropping the idea that Artspace would be good for the community and when (Mayor) Don Ryan came in, I found one that would listen to me.”

By creating a “culturally vibrant community” of downtown artists, Jones said that an Artspace building would have a profound impact on many aspects of life in Hamilton.

“It creates a positive locus of creativity which becomes a bright spot in the community. And it moves outward because artists also get involved in the community,” he said.

The process began three years ago with a visit from Artspace officials to determine if Hamilton was the right kind of city for an Artspace facility. The second phase involved a survey of 3,000 artists living in or near the city to determine whether they would be interested in such a place.

The survey found 109 artists are interested in relocating to a live/work project and 43 are interested only in renting studio space. Eighty-five expressed interest in both.

Hamilton is the first city in the state to make it to the third phase, which is to identify specific buildings or locations.

According to planning director Teri Whitmore, the focus of this search will be on buildings downtown, and the hope is to have the recommendations from Artspace by the time the City Council meets for an Oct. 28 work session on the subject.

Prospective sites include the Hamilton Center at 222 High St., an empty lot on the northeast corner of High and Second streets, and the former Ringel’s Furniture Store at Third and Ludlow streets, Whitmore said.

The building would be owned and run by Artspace, rented out to individuals in the community. After locating the sites, the next step would be to find the funding through a combination of grants and private investors.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.

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