Developments

Last Wednesday, Alex Fox and Dave Szymanski, my audio partner, and I had brunch at the Wyman Park Diner to discuss developments regarding the Station North Artists Association as well as the documentary I want to start to follow the progress of this group.

Alex has recently dropped out of MICA to work full time and devote himself to dealing with the activity occurring in his neighborhood. He doesn't feel that MICA is going to fulfill whatever goals he wishes to accomplish in his life. He has plenty of talent and contacts, so working full time is the best option of him, especially given the fact that his rent will probably go up in a few months.

However, it's apparent that his main concern and passion is saving the Lebow Building, which is the abandoned coat factory on the corner of Oliver and Guilford Avenue. He has a vision for this abandoned building, which is at risk for being demolished in lieu of the looming developments in the area. He believes it can be a community center and music venue, which could be the symbol of combined growth and ingenuity of an artist community that serve all of Station North.

I think the best course of action to take is to start filming interviews with Alex. I feel the most comfortable with him among the other residents of the Annex. He is very open about his feelings and thoughts on gentrification. He was has many connections and a breadth of knowledge regarding real estate development and architecture. He also seems like the one person who is most passionate about battling gentrification and being priced out of his community.

We also plan to film inside the Lebow Building. Apparently, the building still houses all of the production materials, like sewing machines , needed for coat production. There are still coats, buttons, and even pay stubs laying about. I want to shoot in here to get a sense of what these buildings once were, and how de-industrialization how tangibly affected this area.

The thought of possibly getting arrested for trespassing in this building kind of excites me. My mom has already told me to let her know what day I'm going down to shoot incase she has to bail me out.

I forget if I've mentioned this before in this blog, but I'm doing a timelapse on the 1500 block of Greenmount to show the development of the City Arts building over the course of the next few months.

This is getting exciting!