Rise Industries

So this complex got torn down for a new Shaws supermarket in our town. I was a thirteen acre site of old mill buildings along a historic section of the riverfront, mostly in disrepair, but many being lived in/squatted by a vibrant group of artists known in town as Fort Thunder. They have photos of what their space used to look like. The photos speak for themselves. Before it was torn down, they managed to get into Nest and ArtForum, and a group from there known as ForceField was in the Whitney Bienniel. It didn’t go down without a fight, but it was doomed from the beginning, as the city saw the area as derelict. We managed to convince the developers to save two or three buildings on the site, but it was hard to get them to do that. I guess my point is look really hard at something that seems derelict to see its inner life before you lose it.