So What Are We Going to Be Doing At These Meetings, Anyway?

The purpose of the upcoming meetings is to update the community about the progress of the Regional Cultural Action Plan and get feedback on the topics that have emerged from the consultants fact finding work so far. 

In order for you to have a better idea of what we're going to be discussing on January 12 and 13, here's a very brief overview and the Big Topics to think about before you come. (You will be there, won't you?)

What's Been Done So Far?

The process began in June 2008 and will be completed in March 2009. It's involved a series of meetings with the Task Force and several sessions open to board, staff, and volunteers of cultural organizations and artists attended by over 100 people. It's also involved individual and group interviews with almost 100 people as well as several research components, including:

- A survey of cultural participation among over 2,700 regional residents (for details of the findings, go to http://www.wolfbrown.com/richmond/)
- A review of the financial activity of the largest cultural organizations in Richmond
- An inventory of cultural educational programs that will augment the research conducted by CenterStage.

It's now time to reach more deeply into the community and listen to your ideas, opinions, and priorities. To make that process more fruitful, we're providing this brief summary of some of the important themes that are emerging from our research. While WolfBrown consultants are developing their own thoughts about these areas, it is critical to check in and invite community members to air their views. Use this as a framework for thinking about things you want to comment on at the community meeting. 

Emerging Themes of the Cultural Action Plan

1. The Economy and the Plan
In light of the rapid decline in the health of the national economy, both public and private sectors have been forced to make dramatic cut-backs. On the other hand, there's much enthusiasm for discussions of collaboration, consolidation, mergers and other ways to reduce the demands on funding. In light of the reality that the resource base for arts and culture will be under stress, there are important questions of positioning and timing to consider relative to the Plan.

- What do we see as the implications of the current economic situation for the recommendations, the tone, and the approach of the cultural plan?
- How might the positioning and timing of plan strategies shift to reflect that current reality?
- Are there obvious creative consolidation strategies that speak to the stated desire of some funders?

2. Regionalism
Events and interviews have confirmed the difficulty of developing regional cooperation in the area. Yet regional cultural development has been articulated as a priority by local leaders and is a major goal of the cultural plan.

- How might the cultural plan respond to the challenges of developing regional solutions to cultural development?
- Are there specific issues or initiatives in the cultural sector that lend themselves more readily to regional solutions?

3. Coordination
Among the most frequently articulated concerns, both in the cultural sector and more broadly among civic leaders, is the lack of a central coordinating entity to oversee a range of roles – including serving as a spokesperson and advocate for the sector as well as raising and regranting funds. Arts councils traditionally play this role in other communities. With that in mind, imagine an entity that is the spokesperson for culture regionally, whose divisions might include such areas as advocacy, resource development, leadership, creative learning, cultural tourism/marketing, and access/equity/neighborhood initiatives.

- Does such an entity have appeal?
- Is there any organization currently that might be nominated for this role? If so, what kind of restructuring would be required?
- Are there organizations that collectively could come together to play the role?
- What would be the pros and cons of creating a new entity?

4. Cultural Equity
Richmond has made great strides in addressing the legacy of racism in the community. But there remains a divide between African American and white communities, and in particular a divide in how the two groups experience, participate in, and practice cultural pursuits. Our research shows that, in many ways, these communities function as distinct, unconnected silos and that communication between these two groups is not as effective as it might appear to be.

- What inclusive mechanisms can be proposed to bring the two distinct but related sectors together?
- Additionally, can different distribution mechanisms be developed for providing resources to these cultural communities so that they can serve their distinct constituencies?

5. Cultural Education
Cultural education – and its component elements like arts education, creative learning, history and heritage education – represent one of the most promising areas for joint forward movement for the cultural plan over the next decade. It is an area of increasing national focus and funding in light of concerns about the effects of “No Child Left Behind” and America’s vanishing competitiveness. It is of interest to local funders. And it is an activity in which many cultural organizations already have a profile. The cultural plan is looking at what exists and what could exist.

- How can the cultural plan ensure that the recommendations in the area of cultural education are valued by the community.
- Since coordination will be an important hallmark of whatever is recommended, are there candidate organizations that could serve as managing partner for an effort that went well beyond arts education?

6. Artists and Emerging Organizations
Richmond, more than many communities of its size as a vibrant community of artists and young and emerging organizations, in part the result of the arts programs at VCU. This rich ferment of local artists complements the wealth of larger and well-established cultural institutions to which it is also home. As a community, it has shown its social and economic impact through the gallery scene on Broad Street and it is recognized by many civic leaders as a potentially significant element in the City’s revitalization. Yet at the same time, it is hard for artists and small, informal, and emerging groups to flourish.

- Are there mechanisms that can be employed to assist artists and emerging organizations without creating cumbersome bureaucratic structures that impede creativity?
- Are there existing rules or regulations that might be modified to make it easier for artists to live and work in all areas of the City?
- Are there partnerships that could be created or strengthened with existing organizations and entities that would be beneficial to this constituency?

7. Cultural Tourism
The Region has a wealth of cultural assets that can play a significant role in tourism. For example, aside from the broad range of arts activities, there are historic houses and museums, major outdoor events (such as the Second Street Festival and the recently completed and successful Richmond Folk Festival), Civil War battlefields, a world-class museum that is opening a major addition, and a new performing arts venue that will come on line this year. And with the coming Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, beginning next year, many opportunities to link history and heritage to tourism are possible. Yet the City and the region is not perceived as effective in using these assets to attract tourists and visitors.

- What are the mechanisms that can build on these openings and anniversaries to create permanent change in how cultural tourism is conducted in Richmond?
- What are the most effective ways to increase tourism using arts and culture?
- How might communication be improved between the cultural sector and tourism and hospitality interests and what permanent structure should be put in place?

8. On-going Public Process
A priority for the cultural plan is to develop an ongoing model for the Richmond Region to engage in community dialogue about the arts and culture. The City’s recent master planning exercise is considered by some to be an excellent model for how such dialogue can occur. During the course of the planning process, there will need to be more dialogue. But with the economic downturn and the challenges of coordination within the cultural sector, the goals and strategies of the cultural plan will have long timelines. This means that permanent strategies for on-going dialogue need to be put in place now.

- What kinds of on-going community sessions will be most effective as the planning process moves toward completion?
- What kind of steps should be put in place during that time to have an ongoing mechanism for dialogue?
- How can all segments of the community be engaged?