It was with great frustration that I read the article and editorial about the use of the Byfield and Reynolds buildings. I strongly disagree with the claim in a recent Phoenix issue that there was “never a strategic plan or vision for how to make any of it sustainable.”

Doesn’t anyone remember the gargantuan efforts of the Arts in Common (AiC) organization that held in-depth open workshops in 2015 to develop a detailed plan to form a sustainable partnership between the town, the university, and local arts and cultural organizations and businesses in Bristol?

Since then, dozens of those participants have spent thousands of hours to offer strategic planning and guidance for the buildings to become a part of Rhode Island’s growing arts economy. The Arts in Common website (artsincommon.org) provides greater detail about this important work and the vision and goals that were developed around it.

In 2017, AiC even managed to secure a $50,000 startup grant from RISCA (Rhode Island State Council on the Arts) with the promise of much larger grants in the future. It would have begun the process of rehabbing the Walley School and bringing all three Town Common buildings into a center for the arts in the heart of our beautiful town. This vision was supported by the town administration, Walter Burke, and RWU, which would have been an anchor tenant, devoting space for student and community collaboration around the arts.

Since 2009, Byfield and Reynolds have come alive again with individual artists/designers, and organizations like the Community String Project and the Bristol Theatre Company. Come on, Bristol, we all know how important arts and culture are to the lifeblood and economic health of a community. We have already lost many of our wonderful artists to a more welcoming Warren.

Have you noticed how few art galleries we have in town now? We should be doing everything we can to encourage a greater presence, to help the arts remain and thrive here, not to make it harder for them to exist.
Local cultural organizations, the university, government, businesses, community members, and artists are all partners in keeping our precious town a community to be proud of while expanding our reputation as a tourist destination. If we all work together, we can and must revitalize the arts in Bristol.

MaryKae Wright
Bristol