Epilogue: The Afterlife of the Little Arts Colony: Institutionalising Creative Collectivities

Abstract

This brief epilogue begins by looking at the current development of the little art colony at Marfa, Texas, then extends a consideration of the little art colony in the U.S. past mid-century. By this time, the growth of the modern tourist industry had largely overwhelmed the places examined in this study and, as the local economies expanded and diversified beyond arts tourism and became physically and financially accessible to the masses, their reputations as vital little art colonies became diluted and faltered. As a model of possibility, however, the little arts community seems to have spawned two significant iterations that continue to be alive and well in the twenty-first century: the widespread, not-for-profit, artist residency program that fosters cross-pollination across the arts and the ubiquitous ‘arts district’ of cities eager to attract and capitalize on the creative class as part of a development and investment plan. the sketches out the salient features of each that draw from the model of the modern little arts colony and considers the effects of institutionalization in each instance.