Does using empty shops give a place a bad name?

We've moved out of our studio in the end Cambden Building now but whilst we were there we got a lot of different reactions. Two of them were that it looked scruffy. I've pondered on this a lot and think it only right to air it and discuss here. The shop has been derelict for a few years now we think and has recently had some work done to shore up the walls after the demolition of next door. It was ok for a studio space but due to it being unsafe and dirty it was never going to be a pristine space open to the public. The aim of the shop window was to open up our ideas as they evolved, to give people a taste of how our brains were working and let people know what we had found out from all the lovely Runcorn folks. Very much like a sketch book it might get scruffy on pages. We wanted to give those who passed by something lively, thought provoking, maybe a comment on the current state of things and some echoes of the past which we could use in the future. Most people who passed by as we were there stopped and looked for at least a minute. That's a long time for an art work in an non gallery space. Think of all the posters, shop dressings and boardings you go past each day only to give them a sideways glance. The question What is it going to be? was sensible as it was a work in progress, not meant to be assessed as an artwork. The bricks we put about as tables and stools were not a reference back to the lines of bricks as art of the 60's, they were just a place to rest our bums. Its a scary job being an artist sometimes, we aren't there to annoy but we are there to provoke. We can't bring back the missing shops, we aren't that powerful yet, we can't bring solutions to all the current ills in the country. We can provoke debate and questions, highlight what is there and put forward some ideas for what could be. We can listen and try and give voice. We can maybe see a place through fresh eyes.
We have our fingers crossed that once we finish the project in July, after the treasure hunts, after the school and youth group made sculpture goes out onto the streets and into some other shops, after the Runcorn based drama group inspired by local historians show their dramas, after the film footage goes on line it will all become a little clearer and even if its a little scruffy it will be lively and full of fun and hope.