Take the Survey - Make a Cultural Difference
Tamara Real
November 27, 2007
Take
the Survey!
Community and Culture: Creating a Plan for Washtenaw County is a
major initiative to build stronger communities by creating a plan
in which arts and culture are integral elements in achieving goals
we all share, such as preparing our youth for jobs in the 21st
century, creating and maintaining vibrant downtowns, and preserving
our high quality of life. The fruit of this effort will be a
five-year plan for cultural development in Washtenaw County along
with the opportunity for participating communities to customize the
county’s plan to their own needs.
Community & Culture: Creating a Plan for Washtenaw
County
The project includes 3 main components:
- Gathering data about our county’s cultural assets and
resident attitudes/interests in arts and culture;
- Identifying countywide cultural goals based on the data and
writing action steps to achieve these goals;
- Finalizing the countywide cultural plan and assisting
participating communities to customize the plan, if they so
desire.
Community & Culture started in early 2007 by conducting
background research. Presentation of the countywide cultural plan
will take place in October 2008 with work on the community plans
anticipated to end in early 2009.
The project is coordinated by the Arts Alliance, a countywide
service organization that works to create an environment where arts
and creativity can flourish and cultural programs are accessible to
all. Communities participating in the project include Ann Arbor,
Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester, Milan, Saline, and Ypsilanti. Robert
Guenzel, Washtenaw County Administrator, and William Miller,
Superintendent of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District,
co-chair the project’s Leadership Committee, with Debra Polich,
President and CEO of Artrain USA, and Philip D’Anieri, Program
Director of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, co-chairing
the initiative’s Steering Committee.
Community & Culture is supported by many investors,
among them the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Pfizer Global
Research and Development, MASCO Foundation, Washtenaw County,
ETCS/A Michigan Works! & Community Action Agency, Michigan
Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Eastern Michigan University
and more than 15 Washtenaw County-based cultural organizations.
For more information about
Community & Culture, contact Tamara Real, Director, The
Arts Alliance, 734.214.0112,
artsalliance@annarborchamber.org.
More Info
Why is the
Community & Culture initiative so important?
In part, it’s an economic issue related to the essential role that
arts and culture play in the supporting the high quality of life
that makes our region so appealing to businesses and
individuals. Our outstanding cultural organizations are
routinely showcased when new businesses or highly qualified
employees are considering relocating to the area. Those who
already live here know the impact cultural activities such as those
presented by the University Musical Society or the Michigan Theater
have on downtown restaurants and shops. Thinking longer term,
exposure to cultural activities has been shown to significantly
enhance young people’s problem-solving and creative thinking skills
– skills that will be in high demand in 21
st century jobs. Equally important, arts and
culture help us understand and appreciate who we are as a people –
where we’ve come from and where we may be going. In times of
change such as we face nowadays, cultural offerings can play a
critical role in helping us to feel rooted and yet prepared to face
new challenges. The goal of this cultural planning project is to
nurture the growth of our cultural assets in a strategic way so
that they can respond effectively to community needs.
Key elements of the project include:
- Kick-off breakfast on Oct. 16, 2007 featuring Becky Anderson
of HandMade in America
- Ca. 25 community forums held throughout the county with
representatives of targeted sectors, such as education, arts
& culture, business, and civic leadership
- Online survey to gather public input
- Mid-project public update announcing findings to date
- Establishment of task forces to recommend action steps that
will form the basis of the countywide cultural plan
- Presentation of the county cultural plan to the project’s
Leadership and Steering Committees
- Assistance to participating communities to customize the
county’s cultural plan to their own specific needs, if
desired
Community & Culture reflects a recognition by area
leaders that arts and culture has a significant impact on the
well-being of our region. The co-chairs of the project’s
Leadership Committee are Robert Guenzel, Washtenaw County
Administrator, and William Miller, Superintendent of the Washtenaw
Intermediate School District, with Debra Polich, President &
CEO of Artrain USA, and Phil D’Anieri, Program Director of the Ann
Arbor Area Community Foundation, serving as co-chairs of the
project’s Steering Committee. Throughout the county, the Arts
Alliance will be working with Leadership Teams who will ensure that
business leaders, educators, arts representatives, and members of
the public all have a chance to express their views. In
addition, the Arts Alliance is providing 7 interns with valuable
arts management experience as they work on the project under the
leadership of Dr. Susan Badger Booth of Eastern Michigan
University.
As part of the project, approximately 20 to 25
community meetings will take place from late October through the
end of the year in Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester, Milan,
Saline, and Ypsilanti. In addition, an online survey will be
conducted to gather data. This input will be evaluated and
from it, 3 to 5 main issues will be identified. Task groups
will then be established to draft action steps describing how the
cultural community will respond to these issues. A final report
will be delivered in October 2008. Following that, the Arts
Alliance will work with the participating communities to help them
customize the county’s plan to their specific needs, should they so
desire.
