Artist Community Dream

To me, this is what dreams are made of…

Today I discovered a mostly-abandoned town in West Texas. I passed by it last fall on my trek across the country– eyes blinking, curious if I was seeing a mirage, or a movie set, or perhaps radioactivity had sent residents into evacuation. At the time, I was in a hurry to get to my next destination and I spent all of five minutes driving around the town square that had only two parked cars and dozens of darkened storefronts.

Now, I’ve spent a few hours here, hearing a far less interesting story from the coffeeshop’s daughter of how businesses slowly started boarding up until it came to this state. She said I could find crop insurance companies, a pharmacy and that was just about all there was of interest in this little husk of a town. Despite open hours being posted, I found a locked door at the Chamber of Commerce office. I’d been itching to get more information and dig around a bit to figure out how much one (or ten) of these buildings could be rented or purchased for.

That’s where my dreams come in. Ever since owning a studio near the arts district of Columbus, I’ve loved bringing together creatives for exhibitions, workshops, collaborations, and social gatherings. This town has certainly fallen into decay, but there is so much charm and so much potential– if only I could find a group of 10-20 artists willing to adventure to the Southwest and start up an art collective. This town sits right along a major highway that connects two big cities. A few enticing signs and over-sized sculptures and I can see it transforming into a vibrant community.

I’ve learned that these things only come into existence when the ideas are released out into the world; so here I am, doing just that. Do you think it’s possible?