Artists Critical to Youngstown Renewal
I am a returning resident of Youngstown, an artist, and a graduate of Youngstown State University’s art program. After spending many years away, I have returned with a renewed appreciation for this city’s resilience, and with a clearer view of what is still missing for those of us who choose to create and stay here.
Youngstown is not lacking in artistic excellence or institutional credibility. We are fortunate to have the Butler Institute of American Art, a nationally respected museum that draws visitors and elevates the city’s cultural profile. We also have the McDonough Museum of Art, which, through its connection to the university, anchors contemporary practice and education. These institutions matter and tell the world that art belongs in Youngstown. But there is a gap between education and exhibition that remains largely unaddressed.
What is missing is a place, physical and structural, for local working artists to gather, to make work, to collaborate, and to remain visible as part of the city’s everyday life. There are many artists here. I see the conversations, the informal networks, the desire for shared working space and community. What I do not see are sustainable programs or safe, accessible spaces that support artists once they leave the classroom and before, or even if, they reach the museum wall.
I am aware that there was once a shared warehouse-style studio space in the city, and that it ultimately closed due to safety, liability, and insurance concerns. I do not see that closure as a failure of vision. Rather, it highlights a real demand that outpaced the available infrastructure. Artists were willing to show up; the systems to support them safely were not yet in place. Editors note: arts organization LOOP Youngstown have since acquired a building in the city and leased over two-dozen studios in a matter of a few days.
Youngstown is a city with many underutilized buildings, a strong creative population, and a history of adaptation. Supporting artists does not require grand or risky gestures. It requires thoughtful, realistic approaches that balance safety, liability, and access, approaches that treat artists as contributors to revitalization, not as an afterthought.
Cities that invest in their local art communities often see returns that extend well beyond culture alone: increased foot traffic, stronger neighborhood identity, reuse of vacant spaces, and a renewed sense of pride and possibility. Artists help people imagine a future in places that have been told too often to look backward.
Beyond cultural value, working artists play a practical role in economic redevelopment. When artists are able to remain in a city, working visibly and consistently, they contribute to foot traffic, activate underused buildings, and support nearby small businesses. Studio spaces, open studios, and public-facing creative programs bring people downtown who might not otherwise visit, particularly during evenings and weekends. In cities similar to Youngstown, artist-led activity has often been an early and stabilizing force in neighborhood renewal, helping areas feel lived-in and worth investing in before larger development follows.
I am not writing to propose a single solution, but to ask that the needs of local artists be part of the broader conversation about Youngstown’s redevelopment and future. Exposure matters. Affordable, safe working space matters. So does acknowledging that art does not thrive on institutions alone, it thrives on people having a place to do the daily work of creating.
I am grateful for the efforts already being made to move this city forward, and I offer these thoughts in the spirit of care, commitment, and belief in what Youngstown can continue to become.
Dei Bilunka, THIS Art Zine
