Next year marks 20 years of the magazine, a milestone that’s inspired us to reflect on the stories that, in hindsight, were not only significant for us but also played a role in shaping the diverse scenes and cultural pockets of Downtown Richmond. Many of these stories have never been shared online or were lost during our transitions between website upgrades over the past two decades and presented as they were written.
Back in 2006, the idea of Richmond having an “arts district” was just that—an idea. It was a concept gaining momentum in other mid-sized cities across the country, but here in Richmond, it needed a champion. Christina Newton stepped up, founding Curated Culture to support her First Fridays Artwalk initiative on Broad Street. Her goal was simple but ambitious: to create a thriving arts district in a city that hadn’t yet embraced the value of such a vision.
The following interview delves into the early challenges Christina encountered—rallying artists and businesses, navigating skepticism from the city government, and sustaining momentum in a neighborhood many had written off. It offers a glimpse into the complexities of building something as ambitious as an arts district when the odds seemed stacked against it. This conversation took place roughly 5 years before Richmond officially designated an arts district under Mayor Dwight Jones, marking a turning point in the city’s cultural landscape. – Anthony
Our young UR intern is out to find answers to one of our city’s many problems. So begins a multi-part series exploring how a designated, city-recognized Arts District could affect the people and businesses of Broad Street and Jackson Ward. Part 1 features Christina Newton, founder of the nonprofit Curated Culture. Curated Culture is the agency behind the First Friday events on Broad Street.
Mike Roberts: You started the First Friday idea at Artspace, but they have since moved to Manchester…
Christina Newton: About two years ago, they moved into Plant Zero, an amazing facility. There need to be more facilities like it. Unfortunately, it takes individuals and the private sector to develop affordable spaces for artists and arts organizations. The members of Artspace decided to move to that facility—Plant Zero’s development has really ignited growth in the Manchester area. They call themselves the arts district of Manchester, but there’s no official designation.
MR: Has the rise of a new “arts district” created any tension or rivalry between the Manchester and Broad Street areas?
CN: I think there was, obviously, a lot of conversation in the arts community about the development, and there were many opinions about Artspace moving from Broad Street. But I see three different areas of town: the wealth of art facilities in Manchester, Broad Street where we’re located, and then Main Street and the Fan. There’s loose discussion among representatives in these different areas about how we can work closer together. For example, we always talk about expanding First Fridays. There’s kind of an organic development: First Fridays on Broad Street, sometimes Second Fridays on Main Street, and then Third Fridays in Manchester. So there’s an unspoken, uncoordinated series unfolding. Now that Plant Zero, Artspace, and Artworks have settled into themselves, they’ve been well received by the community. Here on Broad Street, just by the wealth of galleries, creative businesses, and retail spaces—with more springing up—we unofficially call it “gallery row” or the “gallery arts district.” I’d like to see this area officially designated as an arts district because we’ve really seen Broad Street redevelop.
MR: So this becomes a political issue?
CN: We’ve been working on that for probably a year and a half. We had the concept for at least two years, but it’s been a backburner issue because it’s complicated when you reach out to the community. We wanted to gather public opinion before suddenly designating an arts district and shoving it down people’s throats.
MR: So where does Curated Culture come into the picture?
CN: Basically, the need for our nonprofit came out of the steering committee that originally coordinated the First Friday Artwalk. The program was initially coordinated by representatives of various galleries in the Broad Street area. By the second year, we realized it was a much larger project than the gallery reps could take on, as they were just trying to keep their businesses running. Then this huge project started developing. When I left Artspace, there was no administrator there to continue the project, so it wasn’t going to survive. I decided to continue the work as a volunteer and eventually founded Curated Culture. The name has confused some people; many are familiar with First Fridays and recognize that branding. They may not know that we help coordinate it. However, our long-term goals as a nonprofit include filling the gaps that other organizations aren’t addressing. We aim to inspire economic and community development through the arts, supporting artists and arts facilities. First Friday fits our mission perfectly, but we’d like to launch other programs in the future.
MR: What kind of relationship do you have with the galleries and businesses in the area?
CN: The participating galleries are members and contribute a small annual fee that partially funds the program. We also help with fundraising and marketing for the program and for the member galleries. At this point, we see ourselves as a co-op marketing venture, providing television and radio ads, print marketing, and working with the Conventions and Visitors Bureau. We meet travel writers and act as liaisons to the media, promoting the galleries, the area, and First Fridays. The media loves to talk about First Fridays, so as we promote it as an overall program, it provides a trickle-down effect for the galleries. You can’t please everyone, but we try to do the best we can with the little money we have.
MR: So you are firmly planted in the background, then?
CN: We’re behind the scenes, kind of like City Celebrations, who coordinate Friday Night Cheers, the Monument Avenue Parade, or the 2nd Street Festival. Citizens may be familiar with the 2nd Street Festival, but they may not know there’s an agency behind it, doing all the administrative work. With First Friday, the galleries coordinate their own exhibitions or programs, but what we do is help promote them. We provide important information to people about coming to the area and visiting a gallery. A lot of people who don’t have much experience with museums or galleries might have misconceptions or feel uncomfortable. I really see First Fridays as an educational experience in disguise. It’s fun and social, but it breaks down those barriers to the arts that I think the general public feels. First Fridays provide an accessible, fun environment to introduce people to the arts. Hopefully, it will bring people back on other days beyond First Fridays. That’s something the galleries want us to focus on—First Fridays are great, but we really need to sell art to stay alive. So that’s the next hurdle.
MR: So, who exactly are you trying to bring out?
CN: Really, we want everyone to come. I know a lot of funders don’t want to hear that kind of broad goal because many organizations focus on a specific demographic or community in need. While saying we want to reach the entire public may be too broad, we do want to try to attract more suburban communities. They obviously have more expendable income and may be more educated, potentially the kind of demographic interested in art but unaware of the galleries in Richmond, particularly on Broad Street. We’d like to reach that audience to support the economic development of the area. However, there are so many people living in the surrounding city and counties who aren’t familiar with downtown’s development.
MR: Is there a potential for a clash between the people you’re trying to bring in, the growing creative community, and the longtime residents of this area?
CN: I think older residents of Jackson Ward are definitely experiencing change due to the increasing value of properties. Monroe Ward is also going to develop dramatically with VCU’s expansion. There aren’t as many single-family homes in the area, so I don’t think it will attract residential development as much as Jackson Ward. A lot of the development isn’t directly or entirely connected to First Fridays. I know that newcomers to the Jackson Ward area are excited about First Fridays because it’s an activity happening nearby that they can walk to. It’s part of the cosmopolitan downtown city life they moved here for.
While we want to help the neighborhood grow, develop it, and make it a creative area, one fear is that we will succeed and experience the so-called ‘SoHo effect,’ where prices skyrocket, galleries can’t afford rent, and artists can’t afford studio rentals. Those are serious concerns, but you can’t stop the free market. It’s a balance. If I had lots of expendable money, I’d invest in developing one of these buildings into affordable housing for artists. That can happen, and it should happen. But that would depend on the private market. The city isn’t going to invest in anything like that.
MR: Obviously the arts are not on Wilder’s radar right now, but do you see any interest from the city?
CN: Because we are such a small organization, we don’t have the time or resources to actively lobby local government or make broader connections in the community. That’s kind of my New Year’s resolution, as it were. I had a wonderful initial meeting with Bill Pantele [Richmond City Council, District 2], who was very supportive of the idea of the area being designated an arts district. So that was encouraging. Unfortunately, our relationship with the City of Richmond amounts to a very meager donation of a thousand dollars annually. As you can imagine, that doesn’t really do anything.
One thing that hurts us is that many people believe we are a city program or are majorly funded by the city. People just assume the city should be doing it, so it must be happening, or they see this going on and say, “Oh, this is something the city is doing.”
MR: So this must really limit both public and private fundraising.
CN: The way funding for arts and cultural organizations works is that, a number of years ago, the city and surrounding counties initiated the Arts and Cultural Funding Consortium, which is administered by the Arts Council of Richmond. Instead of thirty organizations going to city council begging for money, funding goes directly to the arts council, and then they administer the grant process. In the case of a small local organization like ours, we don’t meet the guidelines for funding, so the Arts and Cultural Funding Consortium doesn’t help us at all.
MR: Does this speak to a lack of an activist community for the arts in the political realm?
CN: Locally, for this area, the Arts Council of Richmond lobbies for arts funding for the arts community. For example, in 2005, when Wilder wanted to cut all arts and cultural funding, the consortium was part of a line-item deletion from the budget, along with funding for social services and cultural organizations. There was a huge battle between the city council and the mayor, and ultimately that funding was restored, but the arts council had to stop everything it was doing and lobby to get that funding restored.
For the state, there’s an organization called Virginians for the Arts, which lobbies for state funding. So there are organizations, but there’s still very little money that goes into the Arts and Cultural Funding Consortium. We’re talking about thirty organizations asking for a small amount of money. There is so little funding given to those organizations, and it should be increased.
MR: What kind of strategy does Curated Culture have for getting these programs going, under such limitations?
CN: For us, funding is such a huge issue. Without increased funding, I really fear we’re going to go under. We have to do a lot of fundraising efforts and build stronger relationships with the community and our city council representative. We’re investigating avenues for receiving funding through economic development opportunities, which is a sad thing for me because my heart lies in supporting the arts. But I recognize we are a driver for that development.
MR: So how do you develop that pitch?
CN: It’s hard for us to prove statistically. We can’t really prove that the restaurant next door moved in because of First Fridays, but we know we are the cause of bringing in an average of 5,000 people a month and creating awareness of the area. I’m sure this helps people decide to move into the area.
When we started, there were five galleries in the area. Now, within a five-year period, there are twenty. We can prove that attendance has increased by over 200%. So, while we can’t prove everything, we do have some statistics to show funders.
MR: There are a number of African-American establishments that don’t seem to participate much in First Friday. Given that this is a majority-minority district, what kind of artistic, creative, or business participation do you see in the minority community?
CN: First Friday participants are very diverse. There’s a wide range of art shown at the galleries. In traditional terms, galleries such as the Elegba Folklore Society and 312 have shown African-American, African, or tribal art that adds to the wonderful range of art people can see.
That said, not all galleries are very participatory, no matter what we do or how much effort we put into promoting it.
MR: Do you see a reticence to interact or some sort of barrier?
CN: Possibly, but I hope not on our end. We’ve tried to be as inclusive as possible—maybe even overly inclusive.
For the broader community, such as Jackson Ward residents or other locals, I think we need to do a better job getting the word out that this program exists. We also need to do a better job acquiring individual support in a funding capacity. Right now, we don’t get enough of that support from the community or business owners. It takes a lot of effort to go door-to-door and secure funding in that way.
Statistically, the African-American community is less likely to attend cultural events or museums. Until relatively recently, many African Americans weren’t even able to attend museums due to segregation. Because of this history, there isn’t always a strong tradition of attending cultural events in the community.
This is a challenge that all cultural institutions face—how to engage minority communities in attending and participating in cultural events. It’s a battle everyone deals with. However, one of the things I’m most proud of about First Friday is the diversity of attendees.
Richmond is extremely segregated, even after all these years. For example, you can see Fridays at Sunset, which is prominently African-American, and then go right down the road to Friday Cheers, which is predominantly white. There’s very little crossover, and it’s so sad.
The thing about First Fridays is that you’ll find children, seniors, students, suburbanites, artists—black, white, and people from all walks of life. It’s one of the few events in Richmond where that diversity truly happens and that’s definitely something we want to see grow.
MR: Do you think that the lack of individual support from the African-American art or business community might be a barrier to the economic development and political situation?
CN: If you’re talking about African-American sites that participate in First Friday—
MR: Or more importantly, those who don’t participate in First Friday. For instance, Tropical Soul is located within the Artwalk boundary yet is not a member. However, it is a very lively site of cultural expression.
CN: They’ve wanted to participate, and we’ve had conversations with them in particular. I don’t know why they haven’t gotten back in touch.
I think it’s mainly because we focus on visual art, whereas they are more performance-based. But I would love to have them participate. I think it would diversify the event and enrich what people experience. However, many of the galleries and small businesses in the community are owner-operated, one-person sites barely keeping their doors open. They don’t dedicate as much time to our program as I’d like, or as much as we need for success.
For First Friday to survive—for our organization and this program to survive—we had to set up a membership program. It’s a very small annual amount of $200. Even if everyone were to participate, it wouldn’t cover the cost of printing the brochure. If a business decides not to pay their membership dues, then we’re obviously not going to promote them because it wouldn’t be fair to the businesses that do participate and pay their dues. If it seems like we’re not promoting a certain gallery, it’s because they’re not paying their dues.
We’ve looked at other First Friday programs across the country. Many models in the U.S. have a participants’ fee to help with income. It’s just a partial contribution, but it makes a difference.
MR: So what’s the biggest challenge facing the arts community right now?
CN: It’s always funding. It comes down to funding.
Speaking for the entire arts community in Richmond, it’s incredibly supportive and extremely diverse. I’m in the fine arts community, but the arts scene here is so broad. With VCU at the heart of it, Richmond’s arts community is strong, but there’s still a disconnect in collaboration between organizations. You can’t change people, but we have to continue promoting ourselves and seeking more funding for the arts community.
MR: You mention your focus on fine arts, but there’s definitely a broader reach when it comes to neighborhood development. How do you promote arts on the street level?
CN: We hire and coordinate performers on the street, as well as security.
When we wanted to enhance the street-level atmosphere of the Artwalk, we started hiring performers like the River City Burners or the Fourth Street Saxophone Quartet. Now, other people have come out on their own, like the 804 Noise guys or a street saxophonist. There’s even a belly dancing group that wants to join.
What’s great is that different performance artists have started volunteering on their own. We’re really glad people feel they can participate. It began with us hiring artists, and now others see it and think, “Hey, I can come participate.”
Unfortunately, we don’t have the money to hire as many performers as we’d like, but it’s a future goal to increase our budget so we can hire more people each month. We’d also like to enhance the street-level atmosphere with vendors. But again, that brings up issues like insurance liability. There are so many things we want to do but simply can’t afford to right now.
MR: Justify your existence.
CN: This is something we battle with—questions like, “Are you meeting your mission? Are you necessary?”
I think that if we didn’t exist, some people would still come out, and the galleries would obviously still have their openings. But there would be no advertising. A big part of what we do is provide the marketing. Small businesses, such as galleries, don’t have any money budgeted for marketing. By providing marketing for First Fridays, we serve as a liaison to the community. Without us, there would be no one for someone to call, no central source for contact or marketing.
One major marketing tool we provide is the website, which serves as our main marketing vehicle. Beyond that, while we’re not a lobbying organization, we act in that capacity by creating awareness of the galleries for the neighborhood and the developing community.
Those are the main things we do. For marketing, we have to fundraise. Individual galleries wouldn’t do it on their own—that’s just not going to happen. We also try to connect the galleries with one another and keep people updated about what’s going on. That’s really hard to do because they’re so busy running their own businesses.
At the beginning, I had this idealistic view that since we’re all in the same area, the galleries would talk to each other and collaborate. Often, they’re even situated next door to each other. I thought First Fridays could be an opportunity to bring people together for business or collaboration. Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of competitiveness because, at the end of the day, it’s still business.
That collaboration I envisioned might still happen down the road, but I do think First Fridays has helped connect people more than in the past.
With increased income, we could increase the budget and do more for the galleries. For example, we’d like to develop programs in the galleries such as curator talks, art walks, and events that bring more people into the sites. That’s just something we don’t have the funding to do right now, but we do what we can.
No matter how much you try, you can’t please everyone. That’s just human nature.
Interview by Michael Roberts
Photo by Ian Graham
