TriBeCa is a neighborhood in New York, established relatively recently. Back in the 70’s TriBeCa was just a part of Manhattan. Its name is an acronym based on the words "Triangle below Canal Street", and is bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Vesey Street, meaning simply a triangle shaped area south of Canal Street. It has been in use since one journalist mistakenly used the name Tribeca as a name for the entire neighborhood, not just one block. And it stuck.
Initially, this part of Manhattan was a residential area, but by the mid-19th century the area transformed into a commercial center with lots of warehouses and industrial buildings. Development in the area was spurred by the extension of the textile and clothing industry. By the 1960s Tribeca’s economic activity in the area froze. Lots of commercial space remained empty, so due to the low cost they started attracting many artists from the more and more expensive SoHo (Richard Serra, among others, had his studio there).
Abandoned lofts, because of the low prices and large areas, have become a great attraction, especially to new artists. This dynamic movement within the neighborhood began to transform Tribeca. Then shops, nightclubs and restaurants began to appear. This in turn has attracted investors and resulted in the recovery of this part of the city.
Since the 1980s, with the greater involvement of cultural industries, TriBeCa has been transformed from an industrial place into an upscale residential area. One of the most important development was the transformation of an old warehouse into TriBeCa Film Centre in 1989 by Robert De Niro. Since that time, more and more projects related to the film industry and entertainment appeared in this district. Former warehouses and factory buildings converted into expensive flats made TriBeCa one of the trendiest, most fashionable and desirable neighborhoods of New York. Thanks to prime restaurants, branded boutiques, art galleries, wine-bars and shops with designer products, TriBeCa is now the most visited place in the evenings and at night.
The luxury hotel Tribeca Grand Hotel, opened in 2000, marked the beginning of TriBeCa being considered part of Downtown. From that moment it was clear that TriBeCa was a luxury community and the hotel became the favourite meeting place for the New York’s jet set. Robert de Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival takes place in the Tribeca Grand Hotel.
TriBeCa is known for its celebrity residents, predominantly filmmakers. Among them, next to De Niro, we can find such celebrities as Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Scarlett Johansson, Harvey Keitel, David Letterman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman, Justin Timberlake and Kate Winslet. All of this shows how important cultural industries are today and the transformation that can take place in the city because of it.
The example of TriBeCa has been cited in the context of Priest Mill (Księży Młyn), that also has a chance to follow a similar path. The changes, however, can not be implemented as top-down decisions. This must be a natural and unforced way, as in New York. People and companies must see the potential of this part of town in order to exploit it.
Interview with Maciej Trzebeński, Director of the Factory of Art in Lodz, Art_Inkubator project coordinator
“The Factory of Art” (Fabryka Sztuki) is located in a post-industrial Karol Scheibler’s facility, in the district of Łódź known as the Priest Mill (Księży Młyn). The name of your institution indicates that you strongly identify with the place. Currently, you are working on a project that leads to the revitalization of three factory buildings. Art_Inkubator will be created here. Can you tell me where did you take the idea from and why?
The idea for the AI is a creative activity, changing our current way of thinking about cultural institutions, its actions and the functioning of the public space. A place in which we operate (old factory), strongly determines how we perceive the world, seeking new solutions to the problems we encounter in our everyday work. In order to be able to carry out the necessary process of revitalization, not only in the material sense (architecture), it also has to perform some new forms of action. So the idea of an incubator of culture was created- a project, through which experts will get a factory, and thus open up a new field of action, which is entrepreneurial activity in culture. The idea for the AI was born out of the need to change our methods of overcoming the limitations that stand in your way. It's fair to say that AI is part of the founding myth of the city of Łódź, created by visionaries.
This initiative is realised in cooperation with the Town Hall and Łódź Voivodeship. Does such cooperation guarantee a greater chance of success?
Art_Inkubator is a multi-level, innovative and unique project, so it is very important to get a broad spectrum of partners who will support the potential of this project with their experience, contacts or specific actions.
The Factory of Art is a cultural institution, so its natural partner to cooperate in such a project is the Town Hall. We have to remember that money come from the municipality. Art_Inkubator will be a project contributing to the development not only of Lodz, but also the whole region, therefore, support from the regional institutions can not be overestimated.
What stage is the project in now?
At this point we are at the final stage of all the preparatory work. Working plans and specifications together with the cost estimate are prepared, we have the building permit. All the corrections are now applied and all the necessary documents concerning the formal organizational structure of Art_Inkubator which clarify the manner of its future operations are being created.
There is still the most important element ahead of us, namely the preparation of the documents to get the funding from the Regional Operational Programme of Łódź. The deadline for the contest is not yet specified, but we are ready and waiting.
In your opinion , the change of the postindustrial object’s function into places designed for art, culture, and entertainment is the best idea for the development of Łódź? There's no denying that more and more factories decays, they are demolished and nobody is willing to renovate them. Can you encourage the undecided? Revitalization is not easy, but it seems possible, right?
Redesignation of the characteristic landmark properties, in our case cultural ones, that have lost their primary, practical function is what determines the potential and the strength of our city. Conversion of former industrial heritage into a new, modern, functional place should contribute to the future developments. We need people with vision, ready to take on new ideas. I am strongly convinced that culture will be the driving force behind the development of Łodź in the years ahead. This involves not only the efforts of Łódź to become the European Capital of Culture, but also the increasing importance of the cultural industries for the Polish economy.
Last but not least, let me just say that the revitalization of Łódź is its key to success. We must clearly say that our city is unique. This is a great area of historic architecture. This is the best preserved nineteenth-century urban organism, which cannot be found anywhere else in Poland. The revitalization is well worth the sacrifice.
