Ask the Director – Elena Brokaw
November 4, 2005
I have been hearing a lot about the City of Ventura’s Cultural Plan: Creating California’s New Art City. What’s it all about?
On September 12, 2005, City Council unanimously adopted the 2005 Ventura Cultural Plan: Creating California’s New Art City. The roots for this plan were planted 13 years ago. In 1992, the Ventura City Council adopted the community’s first cultural plan. That plan outlined a roadmap for the city’s cultural emergence, encouraging artistic activity throughout the city as a means to improve our quality of life, fuel our local economy, and enhance our identity as a unique community. The plan helped shape Ventura’s cultural landscape into what it is today: a community that celebrates its cultural amenities, and which people visit for regionally-known events and organizations, like the ArtWalks, the Ventura Music Festival, Music Under the Stars and the Rubicon Theatre.
In the intervening 13 years, the community has changed significantly. Many of its cultural needs have evolved. Based on the success of the 1992 plan, arts leaders in the community are committed to the belief that the planning process can make a positive change in our city’s cultural landscape. In early 2004, an update of the 1992 plan was initiated. The 18-month planning process included approximately 170 participants at town hall meetings, neighborhood council meetings and stakeholder interviews. The document that emerged from the process is a community plan rather than a municipal plan, in that it is not the goal and work of one entity and its success lies in the work and partnerships of many.
The 2005 Cultural Plan includes six key policy areas in the areas of heritage and the built environment, cultural infrastructure, public awareness, lifelong learning, access and involvement, resources and funding. Each policy area has its own set of action items. Because the plan is so closely tied to the community, authenticity, or a desire to nurture Ventura’s own unique cultural identity, emerged as a core value that permeates each policy area.
Part of this emphasis on authenticity included taking a comprehensive approach to culture, one that weaves together the broad fabric of the community – artists, architecture, culture, history and the environment. Planning participants repeatedly expressed their desire to see the cultural infrastructure grow while respecting and paying homage to existing assets and underlying culture.
Now that the plan is adopted, the work to achieving its vision begins. In this time of limited public funding, cross-sector partnerships are critical. Artists, arts organizations, educators, business leaders, and the private development community are just some of the partners that will be called upon to work together to fulfill our goals. Already participants in the planning process have developed effective collaborations that are working to address several of the key policy areas.
By working collaboratively, we can realize our goal and truly become California’s New Art City, a leading destination for art and culture on the West coast. If you are interested in the 2005 Ventura Cultural Plan: Creating California’s New Art City, it can be downloaded at www.cityofventura.net.
For more information about the plan please contact Kerry Adams Hapner at 658-4768 or kadams@ci.ventura.ca.us