Growing Culture on Your Home Turf: How Local Artists Can Impact Cultural Planning at the Municipal Level

by Tara Mazurk

“For those, like us, who have committed to the arts asboth a passion and profession, we are no stranger tothe intrinsic merit of the sector. Yet, in recent years,there has been increased policy pressure to articulatethe value of culture with quantifiable data andqualified detail. Rural municipalities are beginning tosee the benefits of developing cultural plans, that is,strategic documents which map out cultural centres,set priorities in place for the growth of arts in theregion, and articulate the current benefits of art for community engagement and economic vitality. For amunicipal government, these plans pose an objectiveway to measure sustainable growth. But what doesthis all mean for the artist? What resources do theseplans provide? How does one become aware of these initiatives, engage proactively, and still retainan individual voice? For those, like us, who have committed to the arts asboth a passion and profession, we are no stranger tothe intrinsic merit of the sector. Yet, in recent years,there has been increased policy pressure to articulatethe value of culture with quantifiable data andqualified detail. Rural municipalities are beginning tosee the benefits of developing cultural plans, that is,strategic documents which map out cultural centres,set priorities in place for the growth of arts in the region, and articulate the current benefits of art for community engagement and economic vitality. For amunicipal government, these plans pose an objectiveway to measure sustainable growth. But what doesthis all mean for the artist? What resources do theseplans provide? How does one become aware of these initiatives, engage proactively, and still retainan individual voice?”