Discovering the Beauty of Towns: Artistic Regeneration in 16 U.S. Cities

Written/Compiled and Reported by Chi Binghui

Thinking about urban artistic regeneration, one can easily think of places in Taiwan such as Pier-2 Art Center in Kaohsiung, Hai’an Road Art Street in Tainan, and the Taitung Railway Art Village, where many artists gathered to create more possibilities and pursue quality and artistry in life. Artist Chi Nongshen, who has been based in the U.S. for many years, traveled to various artist residencies and visited small art towns, discovering that art activities indeed bring transformation to cities. Thus, he compiled 16 such cities into a book, hoping that Taiwan can draw inspiration from these successful examples and allow artistic regeneration to flourish across its cities.

In the mid-19th century, as housing prices in American metropolitan areas rose, many artists moved to third- and fourth-tier cities to continue their artistic creations, cultivating virgin territories of art and bringing new vitality to small towns where art, once seen as impractical and not a main driver of economic development, was revitalized. For instance, artist Lily Yeh spent 16 years transforming a neglected Black neighborhood in North Philadelphia; the once-abandoned town of Mendocino in California now attracts tens of thousands of visitors to its annual music festival; the Mill Valley Film Festival in California sees participation from up to 200 filmmakers each year, where director Ang Lee also began to rise to prominence; the town of Johnson in Vermont hosts the largest art colony in the U.S., welcoming over 600 artists each year. These cities, unlike those of big metropolises, have carved out their own unique identities through art.

The author of “Cities of Desire – The Urban Regeneration Movement of Slow Food Enthusiasts and Artists,” Chi Nongshen, won the Bronze Award at the 51st Columbus International Film & Video Festival for her documentary “The Legend of Lily Yeh.” In her book, she distills her experience from nearly thirty years of residencies to present the essence of urban regeneration, creating an atmosphere where “life is art,” and hoping that the public can not only enjoy a comfortable humanistic environment but also develop a deeper vision for the development of art and cities.