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Comment by sputknick | Hacker News Reader

Is it possible in the 21st century to have a city where artists all know to gather and make art together? I guess today the closest thing would be college towns? Or perhaps these cities still exist and I'm just not aware of them.

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Berlin from about 1995 to 2015 would probably have been that place. Closest thing today might be Marfa, Texas, which obviously is more of a town than a city.

Interesting. I think there are probably a good many in the art world who would consider anywhere in Texas a nonstarter for residency.

Definitely, but there are a good many people in general that probably consider a small rural town in the middle of nowhere to be a nonstarter in the first place.

I love Marfa, and have visited multiple times. That said, it's definitely a big sacrifice for someone to take a residency there because it's the type of small rural town that doesn't even have a 24 hour pharmacy or proper emergency care without a hour+ drive to a larger nearby town. It's definitely on the fringes of what's acceptable, so much so that it's genuinely surprising when you visit how much of an art enclave it is.

Marfa was able to draw many creatives in part because foundations (like the Lannan Foundation for writers) paid well for them to spend a season or a year there.

LA. You want an editing bay? Its for rent by the hour. Photography studio? For rent by the hour. Recording studio? For rent by the hour. Stage? For rent by the hour. There are creatives in every field here, a critical mass level that allows for an entire service economy tailored towards them to not only exist but grow.

Not knowing much about the topic I feel like your comment is more profound than other answers. Access to collaborators, tools and technicians is a real bottleneck that LA seemingly solves. The city is certainly geared towards producing media, if not art.

San Francisco was like that until the first tech boom in the late 90's. After that most of the artists moved to the East Bay and Portland.

> in warehouses that had once served the maritime industry

loft apartments today were artist residences a generation ago, which themselves were just converted factories

when "work from office" became a thing and people stopped going to factories to work, the factories had to be converted since otherwise they would become worthless

now with "work from home", i think the previous generation "office" will be converted into artist residences again (plenty of windows and light, not too many legal hurdles)

get in now before offices go full circle into luxury "cubicle units"!

Not a city, but i think there are alot of arts-heavy small towns like Bisbee AZ

I've definitely seen this in other parts of NYC, but generally those instances have the IYKYK angle to them, ostensibly to protect their existence.

While not cities per se, there are a few sizeable districts in my area where this type of activity is the daily norm.

Find your nearest slum.

Artists don't make money. Consequently, where they live is necessarily a really shitty place.

Those who say don't know because those who know don't say

NYC. Just not in Manhattan

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