CS00871289
WESTBETH: HOME OF THE ARTS
By Jesper Bundgaard, Per Henriksen and George Cominskie

The first and largest federally funded artists' colony in the United States, Westbeth became home to a generation of artists grateful for cheap rent and a place to live and work. Just designated as a New York City landmark, it is located on the far west side of Greenwich Village. It was reconfigured from five abandoned industrial buildings by the renowned architect Richard Meiers.

Opened in 1970 through funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the J.M. Kaplan Foundation, Westbeth continues to offer affordable artists' housing and an array of cultural activities. The artists of Westbeth range from emerging to well-established and represent a wide variety of disciplines. They include painters, writers, photographers, filmmakers, poets, sculptors, dancers, choreographers, musicians,and composers who have chosen the arts as their life's work. Some of the luminaries who lived there are Diane Arbus, Merce Cunningham, Joseph Chaikin, Nam June Paik, and Nadine Gordimer.

This film provides a window into the array of creative inhabitants, who live work, and age there. Generally speaking, death is the only reason studios become available. Residents have seen the neighborhod go from being neglected and crime-ridden to becoming desirable.

Here is a lively look at a singular example of urban renewal.
DVD
30 minutes
2011
USD 250.00
 
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