Vacant spaces as venues for temporary creative uses

Two areas of the city with plenty of unoccupied retail space currently play host to temporary art exhibitions.  NoMa features five artists curated by the CuDC's Karyn Miller in an exhibition spread around 1st and M Streets, NE, called "Construct."  The DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities brought "Windows Into DC" to the ground floor, empty storefronts in the Convention Center around 7th and L Streets, NW.  Says Jessica Dawson in today's Washington Post about these types of projects:

In Brooklyn and London, they're called pop-up galleries. Temporary art exhibitions brokered by artists promising to fill fallow commercial property, these events purport to benefit all: Artists get exposure, developers get good PR.

There seem to be an abundance of sad empty commercial spaces ripe for temporary creative use along many streets all around DC.  Landlords are reluctant, however, to share their spaces with artists and creatives primarily citing liability concerns. Rather than work with experienced art organizations to find solutions to these concerns, most landlords would rather let their spaces sit empty, adding to the appearance of blight and abandonment along many city blocks.  The city should offer strong incentives to encourage landlords to enliven their spaces between tenants.  In the absence of such enticements, landlords could be better members of their community by not allowing their vacant spaces to remain dark and deserted.

If more landlords come around to allowing artists and creatives to use their spaces, I hope they will allow installations beyond window displays.  Doing so would open up so many creative possibilities for exciting projects that could attract visitors beyond the occasional passerby.  A putt putt course where each hole is designed by a different artist?  A temporary fashion boutique that showcases DC-based fashion design talent? Large art installations that require big, empty spaces like works created by artist Ledelle Moe or Corcoran graduate Kendall Buster?

In Dawson's article, Michael Dax Iacavone says, "We should stuff art into every open corner, alley and empty office."  I agree!  Art and creativity should surround us in our lives inside and outside. The more we see and experience it, the more it will inspire us.