by Paul Klemperer

A lot of what makes Austin unique in Texas and in the U.S. overall is the concentration of creative, unorthodox people we have here. Maybe it's because Texas has maintained a do-it-yourself frontier attitude, which staves off some of the corporate conformist tendencies that seem otherwise to encroach irrevocably across this great land. But that frontier attitude has taken different shapes in different locales, from new frontiers of big hair in Dallas, to new frontiers of toxicity in the Golden Triangle. (Don't get me wrong -- I love Port Arthur!) In Austin, people put themselves forward in the arts with a sincere chutzpah that is rarely seen in much larger cities. And unlike those other cities, our citizens support and encourage this chutzpah.

It is true that the soaring rents and other basic costs of living make it harder to be a slacker here than in years past. It used to be easier to pay the bills with a part time job while you worked on your quirky screenplay or CD of autobiographical folk songs. But people still use this town to gestate, appearing at various times and places with plays, musicals, new bands, independent films, even symphonies.

For musicians it has in some ways gotten easier to move through the creative stages, from nascent ideas to completed product. Advances in technology make it quite feasible to record your own CD; another home recording studio springs up each week. There are several companies that do everything in-house, from mixing to mastering to pressing to shrink-wrapping the final product. Just check the classified pages of the Chronicle and you can find them spread around town. Once the CD is out, there are many independent record stores to carry it, as well as chains, and a plethora of venues to showcase the live sound.

Yes, the creative spirit is going strong here, largely without much institutional support. One of the results of the burgeoning of independent creative productions in this growth economy is that, faced with high rents and production costs, East Austin has become somewhat of a magnet for the arts renaissance. Performance spaces include coffeehouses like Gaby & Mo's and Café Mundi, bars and restaurants like the Victory Grill and the Calabash Café, and a growing number of theater spaces like the Off-Center, the Blue Theater and the Vortex.

Which brings up a problematic issue, both for the short and long terms. What role will the arts play in the ongoing development of East Austin? The benefits seem obvious: existing spaces are being preserved and renovated, income is generated, publicity brings media attention to the East Side and builds a stronger connection between East and West Austin. Will this last?

The traditional development model for Austin has been something along the lines of Pac-Man. Greedy developers gobble up whatever area is the latest money-maker. Perhaps plans for Smart Growth will lessen the Pac-Man approach. Development of the former Mueller Airport area will be the biggest test case.

If sustained rational growth is possible in East Austin, the seeds planted by various arts groups may take root. If not, I see two scenarios. Independent artists get squeezed out by rapacious developers once again, as property costs go up, and all those in the low-income range feel the squeeze. Or arts-oriented venues get co-opted by developers until there are Starbuck clones from MoPac to Montopolis, and low income folks still feel the squeeze. In other words, white-owned arts projects may inadvertently act as a stage in the gentrification of East Austin.

If this is to be avoided, white-controlled projects in East Austin must add to the cultural mix, build on the existing cultures of the African American and Mexican American communities, rather than displace them. The influx of money and talent from Austin west of Interstate 35, even though it is mostly in the form of struggling independent artists, is still problematic. It is possible, and desirable, for individuals to develop their crafts, find their voices, participating in short term projects on the East Side, and simultaneously be contributing to a long-term sustained cultural development program that is not subject to the gentrification tendencies of profit-oriented developers. It is quite a challenge, given Austin's development history to date, but it isn't impossible, and would surely prove the oft-repeated sentiment that the arts are vital to Austin.