Reimagining Kendall Whittier

 

The R|R Approach

Regenerate|Reimagine (R&R) is an exploratory public art initiative that focuses on public art as an economic development strategy. For this project, we invited local artists to reimagine neighborhood storefronts (some vacant, some occupied) to be reflective of business concepts the community wishes to see.

01 — Local stakeholder feedback

Community voices within Kendall Whittier echoed a desire for more restaurants in their community.

02 — Identifying storefronts

Working with the Kendall Whittier Main Street, we identified and secured select buildings for the project. Some buildings have functioning businesses, others moving out, and another recently closed.

03 — Engaging artists

We identified local artists and presented them with a challenge: take a building and reimagine it as a restaurant or novelty store. The artists had about ten days from conceptualization to finalization.

04 — Install & enjoy!

Art gets installed and the real work begins.

The Experiment

The pandemic has disproportionately impacted BIPOC-owned small businesses in Tulsa.

Hypothesis:

a. By building momentum around small biz opportunity in areas most impacted by the pandemic, we can spur more interest in developing and nurturing a range of small businesses.

b. By creating hype around existing small biz, we can increase foot traffic in areas disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, supporting small biz recovery.

Experiment:

Creating art experiences can attract traffic, while helping community members visualize opportunity, we can collectively begin taking new steps to explore, open and operate new business concepts in Tulsa, OK.

Get Involved

AS A COMMUNITY MEMBER:

You can serve as a neighborhood advocate and help bring exciting, relevant businesses to your community. There are a number of ways to get involved, including:

  • Joining the Kendall Whittier Neighborhood Association (as a volunteer or as a friend of KW!)

  • Supporting in data gathering and research to help further define a business case for prospective business owners

  • Reaching out to local legislators with recommendations, feedback and support around recruiting prospective new business owners

  • Identify neighborhood champions to amplify existing efforts (see the Kendall Whittier community Facebook for recent events and initiatives)

  • Consider envisioning yourself as a prospective business owner! Tulsa has a plethora of services and opportunities to explore small business management, including resources specifically targeted to prospective restaurant owners, such as Kitchen 66. Other local resources include TEDC's Small Business University (SBu), Tulsa's Future (via the Tulsa Regional Chamber), and the local Tulsa SCORE (via SBA.gov)