article
2010-04
Today's culture scene in SoBro
by Tomoko Inoue
japion


The transformation
 
Lately, many artists are changing their locations to the South Bronx, accompanied by numerous openings of new art galleries. scenyc - website design, advertisement design, music/art event production - is a company involved in the movement.

"When we moved to the South Bronx in 2005, people asked us, why there?," says director Philip Shearer, jokingly.

The company started in his parents' basement in the Upper East side. As they grew, they started to look for bigger and better spaces in places like Williamsburg. That idea was given up on, because the rent rates were already way up, and they had to look elsewhere. Finally, the company settled on the Mott Haven area, around the 138th Street subway stations, one stop away from Manhattan. 

Akiko Isomoto, a Japanese staff member at scenyc, says "The South Bronx is now referred to as SoBro. It's opening up faster now. Originally, this area was only for blacks and latinos. But we have started to see more and more young white artists."

The neighborhood used to be more industrial, with a lot of factories. Today, buildings are being converted to residential lofts, just like Williamsburg a little while ago. The New York Times has noted this, with a recent piece about the change in the area.

There are project buildings right around the corner from the office, but "You have to be careful about the time and place when you walk around New York anyway. I never felt or experienced an especially dangerous situation around here," says Akiko. "I live in Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn, and my friends think it's a very long distance to commute, but it only takes about 20 minutes to get from the studio to Union Square on the 4-5 subway lines. Actually, it's pretty close."


Warmth of a pleasing community

According to Philip, the biggest difference with Manhattan is "people's friendliness." As soon as they moved in to SoBro, they started making friends in the community, from firefighters to art gallerists. It's a small and interconnected community, where everybody can help each other if required by circumstances.

scenyc has been an active contributor, producing events like an outdoor live music party on their own self-made stage at the neighboring Shell gas station, or organizing their New Year's Eve Celebration event, which brought about 200 people to the neighborhood, attracted local residents, and further improved the local art community.

"SoBro is still a well-hidden secret. You won't find out about it unless you actually go, and see what's good!"