I am just back from a whirlwind trip to Rochester, N.Y., where I am part of a team working on an
arts and culture plan for the city and the surrounding county. My mission this week was to visit
inner ring suburbs and outlying communities and learn and the resources, challenges and visions
people had there for the cultural life of their communities. I spent time in Brockport, Fairport,
Irondequoit and Maplewood (a historic suburb within of Rochester).
What I was reminded of what how passionately people are interested in participating in and
experiencing cultural activities in their own backyards, far from the signature downtown
institutions. In the past, cultural planning has focused on the challenges and needs of legacy
cultural organizations. Today, however, the artistic life of a community also requires attention to
how individual artists are supported, and the infrastructure that exists neighborhood by
neighborhood to sustain creative life.
What I learned in Rochester and Monroe County was how much of the creative life of the
communities in this area is sustained by volunteer efforts – either volunteer arts boards that do
hands-on production of events and program, or non-incorporated organizations where people
come together to participate in activities they love and present them to their neighbors. I have
learned about the important of creative hubs — from recreation centers to coffee shops to
bookstores to maker spaces to community arts centers – as places where people can connect with
resources and collaborators. I learned that cultural vibrancy is related to social capacity; each
depends on the other to thrive.
What I am thinking about is how a cultural plan can identify the building blocks of a healthy
cultural ecosystem, such as community capacity, third spaces, libraries, public historians, etc., in
addition to supporting artists and organizations, and how resources can be focused on those key
building blocks.
No matter where I went, people were excited and optimistic about how enriching their
community cultural life can help strengthen their communities overall. How will this plan help
them get there? Stay tuned!
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