Firm selected to help design Comprehensive Cultural Plan for Louisville Metro
An exciting fund opportunity is also now available
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville Metro Government Tuesday announced the city is teaming up with Designing Local, a Columbus, Ohio-based consulting firm, to draft a Comprehensive Cultural Plan for Louisville. This will include an audit of Louisville’s creative economy and an update to the Public Art Master Plan. The Office of Arts + Creative Industries will be working closely with Designing Local over the next year to engage the Louisville community in devising a strategic roadmap arts and culture initiatives across the city.
“The Office of Arts + Creative Industries is excited to undertake this important work on behalf of the city. It is essential that it be done in collaboration with residents, artists, and cultural practitioners, which is why it was critical to find the right consultant to partner with us in facilitating this process,” said Jessica Bennett Kincaid, Arts + Creative Industries Director.
Designing Local is an award-winning firm who has worked with communities across the country, and members of the team are in town this week to get further acquainted with Louisville’s art scene and begin identifying stakeholders. The firm’s design for the future Cultural Plan will be informed by local research, community input, and national benchmarks. The planning process will take a closer look at the role the creative sector plays in our city’s overall economy, which includes non-profit data and private sector jobs, salaries, and sales and tax revenue impact.
The strategic planning process will also update Metro’s initial Public Art Master Plan from 2009 and catalog Louisville’s cultural assets. This includes our anchor arts and culture institutions, artist-run spaces, creative start-ups, as well as social groups and networks that are critical parts of people’s lives but may not be formally organized.
This asset mapping process will identify missing or underdeveloped framework where we need to focus our efforts in strengthening or building certain types of organizational infrastructure.
At certain phases of this process, Designing Local will also collaborate with Artful Places founder, Todd Bressi, and economic strategists Jon Stover & Associates.
Members of the team are in town this week to begin familiarizing themselves with the community and start the process of identifying stakeholders.
We anticipate the entire planning process will take about a year. The product will be a 10-year roadmap that identifies both short and long-term goals, implementation strategies, and metrics for success in collectively strengthening and growing Louisville’s arts and culture ecosystem. These goals and metrics will be informed by regional and national benchmarks and best-practices but adapted to Louisville’s individual context.
To encourage vibrant dialogue around arts and culture, there is a form you can fill out to make sure your voice is heard. The firm will facilitate at least two major community meetings to guide the crafting of a plan that reflects Louisville’s voice and values. We will announce when the first meeting is scheduled.
This morning, the Office of Arts + Creative Industries also noted that Louisville Metro has made positive changes to the External Agency Fund grant program which will provide more support for the arts and culture community. Bennett Kincaid announced that one such funding opportunity is being released this morning that will make more than $125,000 in grant funds available to our arts and culture non-profits.
The Office of Arts + Creative Industries will host a virtual information session for interested applicant organizations this Friday, August 9, at 3 p.m.
For more information about eligibility, the application, and award process, you can visit the Arts + Creative Industries page.
If you would like to give input to Designing Local regarding the cultural plan, you can fill out this online form.
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About the Office of Arts + Creative Industries
With a focus on providing arts experiences for everyone and creative community spaces, the Office of Arts + Creative Industries strives to activate Louisville through the arts by providing programs and direct support across the following areas: arts experiences for everyone, a creative workforce, and creative community spaces and neighborhoods. Utilizing grants, the city has connected artists of all ages to resources and platforms for their creativity.