Portsmouth’s creative economy is the “engine block” driving the city, according to artist Roger Goldenberg. But until recently, that engine hasn’t had an official system in place to keep it running.
“We’re working steadily to build an infrastructure in the city that can help support the development of artists’ space,” Goldenberg said.

Part of establishing that infrastructure includes creating guidelines and standards for the city’s role in promoting the arts. This year, Art-Speak is working to draft a number of new ordinances that will address everything from artist housing to rules for sidewalk performances.

One ordinance that the city’s cultural commission is working on would allow developers to build a combination of living and workspace for artists and their families. Currently, this kind of use is not permitted by city ordinances, according to Jane James, president of Art-Speak’s board of directors. For example, while The Button Factory on Islington Street offers artists affordable studio space, artists cannot live there.

“What we’re trying to go for is live/workspace where an artist and his or her family could live … and produce their art there,” she said. If artists could live and work in the same place, “it’s like not having to pay rent for your workplace,” James said.

The ordinance is still being drafted and has not yet been presented to city officials, according to James. The changes would also allow developers to include separate studio spaces in new housing developments. For example, if a developer wanted to convert an existing building into acluster of townhouses, the new ordinance would permit studio space to be part of the project.

“Let’s say we’ve got (a) building with five artist studios in there. It’s five more than we’ve got now. (The ordinance) is about being able to permit that use,” James said.

But just how much artists’ space is needed is unclear. Art-Speak conducted a survey among Portsmouth artists regarding space needs in 2005. However, the results of the survey have not been compiled yet, though James says the data should be made public sometime in the next few months.

Though collected almost a year ago, the data is still relevant, according to James. One of the most surprising trends among the responses was the relative financial stability of artists.

“The folks who filled the survey out are stable, long-lived in the same location and are just like the rest of us making a living,” James said. “Maybe it takes five jobs, but then again, they’re pretty average, normal everyday people.”

At the March 6 Portsmouth City Council meeting, councilor Chris Dwyer, the former and founding president of Art-Speak, introduced an ordinance that would allow for the city to help fund public art projects, as well as set up guidelines for the development and placement of public art. A public comment session on the ordinance will be held at the March 20 council meeting.

The ordinance would create a dedicated trust fund specifically for public art projects within the city’s general fund. Under the ordinance, municipal building projects that cost $2 million or more will be required to dedicate 1 percent of the total cost for public art for the site. Dwyer said the ordinance would help create “original, enduring” art for each site.

For each new building or rehabilitation project that falls under the ordinance, a committee comprised of the project’s architect, building residents and others would announce a call for submissions and approve each public art project.

“Public art, by its nature is controversial … so that’s why a broad-based selection oversight committee is important,” she said.

The ordinance would also establish loose guidelines for what is and what isn’t considered public art.
“We did want to define what public art could be, so it isn’t just something the architect would do (on the site) anyway, but we also didn’t want to limit it to what we might most traditionally think of (as public art),” she said.

Art-Speak is also working on drafting an ordinance that would clarify guidelines for sidewalk performances. In October 2005, Dover resident Lara Rines was arrested in Portsmouth after staging a fire-dancing performance in Market Square. Following her arrest, Rines said the rules for sidewalk performances were unclear. However, James said Art-Speak has been working on the issue since the organization began working a year and a half ago.

Under current guidelines, before jugglers, musicians or anyone else can perform on the sidewalk, they must obtain permission from the City Council. In the letter, potential performers must outline their act, the date, time, location and individuals involved in the act. This means performers must submit a letter to the Council anywhere from a week to two weeks before their performance to coincide with the Council’s biweekly meeting schedule. If the City Council approves the application, the city manager will notify the performer of any additional requirements for staging the event, from getting a permit to having insurance.

Dwyer thinks that city officials, artists and residents need to discuss new rules for street performances. But whether that discussion leads to new ordinances remains to be seen.

“I think we need clarity, and whether that’s in the form of an ordinance or not, I don’t know,” Dwyer said. The issue is complicated because current city rules address street performances under the regulations for sidewalk obstruction and noise ordinances.

“It isn’t just a matter of looking at something in isolation,” Dwyer said.

The City Council will hold a workshop session on sidewalk performances on Monday, April 3 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting will be open to the public, though there will not be a public comment session. 
In 2002, a study by the group Americans for the Arts found that non-profit arts venues generate more than $26 million in Portsmouth. James said a similar study will take place this year, this time including for-profit venues. The city will pay a reduced fee for the study this time because Americans for the Arts “really wanted to do Portsmouth” because of the results of the previous study, James said.

“We were so far off the charts (in 2002) from where we should be for a town or city of our size,” she said.

Art-Speak will get a chance to celebrate its accomplishments on Thursday, April 13 at the annual Governor’s Arts Awards ceremony in Concord. This year, the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts presented Art-Speak, and the entire city of Portsmouth, with the “community spirit” award. James is hoping to bring a large delegation from Portsmouth to the event. The award is important “because the arts to so many people are intangible,” James said. “We all take it for granted. We live in a really neat community, and if you lived in another community, you wouldn’t see what we see, wouldn’t experience what we experience.”