Arts council releases 10-year arts and culture plan for city and region

The Springfield Regional Arts Council released its 10-year cultural plan for the community this morning, and it stresses the role of the arts and culture as economic drivers for the region.

Called “This Place We Make: A Creative Roadmap for the Ozarks,” the Springfield Regional Cultural Plan relied on input from more than 1,000 community stakeholders in surveys, focus groups and interviews.

In introducing the plan, Josh Inmon, president of the SRAC Board of Directors and associate director of event venue Juanita K. Hammons Hall, said it is more than just an arts plan.

“It’s a community development strategy. It recognizes that the arts help drive economic vitality, attract talent to our region, strengthen neighborhoods and improve quality of life,” he said.

SRAC Executive Director Leslie Forrester called the arts plan a labor of love and the result of a slow, deliberate process involving arts economy stakeholders and the broader community. She offered an invitation for community members to get involved in putting the plan into action.

Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Matt Morrow praised the plan in his remarks.

Morrow stressed that arts and culture matter from an economic development perspective.

“A vibrant arts and culture scene tells people that this place is a place with imagination, with energy – with texture, with meaning, with creativity,” he said. “It’s a place where people don’t just work; it’s a place where people live and thrive.”

The cultural scene can be a business and workforce attractant, according to Morrow.

“Arts and culture help answer one of the most important questions that any community faces: Is this a place worth choosing?” he said. “Thanks to the regional arts council, our answer is stronger; our answer is clearer and more compelling all the time.”

Arts economy
The plan report calls the arts an economic driver that requires collaboration from local governments, educational institutions, businesses, nonprofits, philanthropies, artists and residents.

“The more we invest in and truly support creativity in our community, the more we demonstrate to visitors, prospective talent and interested businesses who we authentically are,” the report states.

It adds that strategic investment in the arts and culture will help the region to attract and retain talent, support local businesses, strengthen tourism and create a sense of place to allow communities to thrive.

The plan states that arts and culture shape the experiences of residents and visitors, but they also help young people decide where to build their futures.

The cultural plan supplements the city of Springfield’s Forward SGF comprehensive plan, which is permeated by the theme of arts and culture, the report states.

“By creating a formal arts and culture element that complements the comprehensive plan, Springfield positions cultural development as integral to, not separate from, the community’s overall growth strategy,” the plan states.

The report stresses a regional approach to arts and culture while noting that Springfield serves as the region’s cultural center, with 85% of area residents primarily attending arts events in the city. Artistic borders are permeable, however, with audiences traveling to other cities in the region and experiencing different districts within the Queen City, like downtown, Commercial Street and Moon City, the report states.

“Economic impact from cultural tourism benefits businesses in all communities,” it states. “The halo cities of Republic, Ozark, Nixa, Rogersville and Willard are integral partners in the region’s cultural future, each contributing unique assets while also engaging with Springfield’s institutions and programming.”

The plan was written by the San Diego-based Cultural Planning Group at a cost of $30,000, funded in part by the Hatch Foundation.

Goals outlined
The research resulted in the development of three goals for the community, all deemed unlikely to change over the decade the plan covers:

• Goal 1: Broaden and deepen Springfield’s engagement in arts and culture by improving access, marketing, public art, arts education, festivals and regional collaboration.

• Goal 2: Cultivate and elevate Springfield’s creative sector through increased investment in artists and organizations, professional development opportunities, affordable creative spaces and stronger networks among cultural partners.

• Goal 3: Develop sustainable infrastructure for Springfield’s arts and culture by creating diversified funding sources, strengthening the creative economy, supporting cultural districts and improving transportation and accessibility.

Barriers and needs
The report identifies the top barriers to increased participation in the arts:

• 48% didn’t hear about events or opportunities

• 31% cited inconvenient schedule or location

• 24% were satisfied with the current level of participation

• 23% cited cost

• 17% cited lack of interest in current offerings

It also ranks what artists themselves say are their top needs:

1. Exhibition, performance and sales opportunities

2. Networking and connection opportunities

3. Professional development assistance

4. Affordable work/live-work space

5. Community leadership opportunities

Most-needed improvements, according to respondents, are event communications, cited by 87%; creative careers, 83%; cultural representation, 81%; arts venues, 79%; maker spaces, 76%; and more public art, 72%.

A majority of respondents rate Springfield’s arts and cultural scene positively, with 16% calling them excellent and 51% good. Another 20% said arts and culture are adequate, with 13% ranking them fair or poor.

Some 91% of respondents said arts learning opportunities are essential to the community.

There was also strong community support for increased public arts funding, with 66% strongly favoring such funding, 14% somewhat favoring it, 11% needing more information and 9% opposing an increase in public funding.

The report identifies an opportunity to keep entertainment dollars in the region by demonstrating Springfield’s cultural amenities that are worthy of a modern city. Though the arts are understood by downtown stakeholders as driving talent retention, the report states, this understanding is not yet translated into systematic support from the business sector, with plan contributors calling for more buy-in for arts and culture from the business community.

Strategies
Each of the three goals of the plan is supported by multipart strategies that name action elements with named leads and sometimes partners.

As an example, Goal 1, to broaden and deepen the city’s engagement in arts and culture, begins with Strategy 1.1, to elevate marketing and promotion of Springfield’s arts and cultural opportunities.

Under that strategy are six plan components, beginning with 1.1.1, “Create a comprehensive, accessible, culturally relevant marketing program to promote arts events and activities and raise the visibility of the arts in Springfield and across the region to residents and visitors.”

The lead for this component is SRAC, with partners Visit Springfield, Missouri, local media and other marketing programs and channels.

Other Goal 1 strategies – each with three to five action steps – are to expand and diversify the community’s access to arts and cultural opportunities, to develop community-wide programs to showcase Springfield’s creative sector and engage the community in compelling ideas, to establish a comprehensive public art program for Springfield based on national best practices, to leverage arts and culture as a tool for business attraction and retention and to promote regional cultural development and cooperation.

Goal 2, to cultivate and elevate Springfield’s creative sector, includes the following strategies: to increase funding for arts and cultural nonprofits and individual artists; to encourage community leadership and participation in Springfield’s arts sector; to build the capacity of artists and organizations for their work; and to ensure Springfield’s creative sector has access to affordable spaces for performance, exhibition, rehearsal, studio production, administration, storage and living.

Goal 3, to develop sustainable infrastructure for Springfield’s arts and culture, includes four strategies: create diversified funding streams for arts organizations, individual artists and cultural projects; support development of Springfield’s creative economy and develop one or more designated cultural districts; and address transportation and accessibility challenges to improve access to Springfield’s cultural venues and events.

The plan states the SRAC must evolve to implement the cultural plan to become a cross-sector community development corporation that integrates arts and culture with functions like real estate development and economic and workforce development.

The SRAC aims to convene a community advisory group to oversee implementation of the cultural plan and provide reporting and accountability to the community, the plan states.