In THIS post from several days ago, we wrote about an artist who had created a blanket made up of American dollar bills as a response to the economy.

A more interesting - and useful - idea for artists is outlined in this Wall Street Journal article - click HERE - that identifies an age old trend currently being revived among America’s most destitute cities…Cleveland, Detroit.

Image: austinchronicle.com

Artists are moving into cheap neighbourhoods that nobody else wants, where they are picking up properties for as little as a few thousand dollars:

“Artists have become the occupiers of last resort,” said Robert McNulty, president of Partners for Livable Communities, a Washington-based nonprofit organization. “The worse things get, the more creative you have to become.”

Artists and architects are buying foreclosed homes in Detroit for as little as $100. In St. Louis, artists are moving into vacant retail spaces in a shopping mall, turning stores that stood empty for more than a year into studios and event spaces for rents of $100 a month.

It’s refreshing to see the spotlight turn away from over-inflated markets. There’s opportunity - and potential for creativity - in everything.