Whittier Storefront Project Open House
A Collaboration with MCAD Art in Community students, the Whittier Alliance
and the Whittier Business Association
Open House April 24th, 3-6pm
Held at the PayDay America Building Vacant Space
2600 Nicollet Avenue
Free and open to the public

Students in the "Art in Community" class from the Minneapolis College of
Art and Design, in conjunction with the Whittier Alliance and Whittier
Business Association will be presenting their work made for the Nicollet
Avenue vacant storefronts on Saturday, April 24th from 3-6 pm.  Over the
2010 spring semester, the artists, with help from Professor Elissa
Cedarleaf Dahl, interviewed the residents and workers of Whittier, asking
what they wanted for the neighborhood and for these empty spaces. They
used these responses to help design a poster campaign for the vacant
storefronts that will help to brighten up "Eat Street" and hopefully
attract potential new businesses to the available spaces.  Through lots of
elbow grease and cooperation from Whittier partners, these storefronts
were cleaned and will display the posters until rented (at which time the
posters can be moved to highlight the potential of another vacant space). 
Please stop by our Open House Event on April 24th to make your voice heard
in the Whittier community and learn more about the project by visiting the
revitalized storefronts.

Dylan Thomas of the Southwest Journal came to our cleaning-day to do some observing, conversing, interviewing, and photographing of our Storefront Project!

Dylan’s article will be published in the Southwest Journal on April 19th, we will post a link to the article as soon as it’s released.

We asked community members the same thing we’re asking all of you: What do you want?

Here’s some responses we got from our conversations:

"I wish it was louder how much people care- not just those who have been here
forever but those how are transient in and out of Whittier.  I am Whittier. I love
it.  I actually try to help out this place.  People care.  It is so powerful to have
that.  When I hear Whittier I get a good feeling."

"I'd like the bad people to think, 'I'd like to get out of here.'"

"I wish Whittier had more of an identity."