Paducah, Kentucky

LowerTown Artist Relocation Program (City of Paducah; later administered with the Paducah Renaissance Alliance)

Problem

Cultural assets—stories, crafts, music, heritage sites—are celebrated but rarely monetized in ways that benefit local creators and communities.

Solution

Paducah's Artist Relocation Program began in 2000 when the city hired artist Mark Barone to recruit artists to the blighted Lower Town historic district, offering city-acquired properties for as little as $1, $2,500 toward professional fees, free lots, Enterprise Zone tax exemptions, mixed-use zoning and 100% financing from Paducah Bank at up to 300% of appraised value; it won a 2005 Rudy Bruner Award Silver Medal. The city's current page claims 75+ artists, residents and businesses and $30 million-plus in private investment for $2 million of general fund money; independent counts put 45 artists and $14 to 15 million invested in 2005, about 70 artists by 2006 to 2010, and roughly 20 to 30 artists remaining by 2016 to 2018.

Patterns used: Culture-as-Economy

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