After more than six months of community brainstorming, consultants for the Mayor’s Task Force for the Arts will present their top recommendations for the City’s role in the future of arts and culture in Kansas City, Missouri.
These recommendations, part of a recently completed draft report, include ten goals with accompanying strategies pulled from public input and the four sub-committees. Not only does the Cultural Planning Group lay out a roadmap for City leaders to fully embrace and codify arts and culture in its operations, but it provides specific strategies to support arts education, utilizing our heritage to increase tourism, and leveraging the developing technology platform to benefit the arts.
“I’m very proud of the collaborative, thorough work this Task Force for the Arts has completed,” said Mayor Sly James. “There is a tremendous amount of momentum within Kansas City’s creative and artistic community and it’s up to us to take that energy to the next level. I’m looking forward to the next steps in this process and challenge the Task Force and the entire community to analyze these recommendations with an emphasis on building cohesion within all of our dynamic arts and culture resources.”
All recommendations will be highlighted at two meetings, at which the public is invited to attend and offer feedback:
• 5:30-7:15 p.m. Monday, July 15 at the Kansas City Library Plaza Branch auditorium, 4801 Main Street.
• 5:30-7:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 16 at ArtsTech, 1522 Holmes Street.
Reservations are requested, but not mandatory. RSVP at www.surveymonkey.com/s/8Q3FKHH
The report by the Cultural Planning Group consultant team is the result of an extensive outreach campaign called Envision Arts & Culture KC. This campaign was launched by the
Mayor’s Task Force for the Arts in January, and included dozens of meetings with community groups and individuals to gather suggestions during a “festival of ideas.” The report and citizen feedback will be used by the City Council to update Kansas City’s arts and culture policies.
For more information contact Porter Arneill, public art administrator, at or .
