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Posted on Thu, Oct 22, 2009 : 5:56 p.m.

What is Ann Arbor's cultural future? There's still time for voice in plan

By Tamara Real

If you don't know where you're going, any road can get you there.

Some might argue that such benign neglect has characterized Ann Arbor's stewardship of its cultural sector. Such folks might say that as a community, we've been content to sit back and let arts and culture evolve as it would, based on the specific interests or skills of motivated individuals or groups.

While this certainly is one approach to cultural stewardship, others feel that as a community, we could go further faster if we knew where we were going and had a road map describing the route.

This latter viewpoint characterizes the motivation to create an Ann Arbor Cultural Plan.

More than 50 people -- including artists and arts managers, board members and business leaders, educators, politicians, and civic leaders - have been thinking and talking about Ann Arbor's cultural future since last spring as part of the Arts Alliance's Cultural Planning project.

These Ann Arbor-focused discussions represent the last step in the process that has created the Washtenaw County-wide Cultural Master Plan and six smaller, community-focused cultural plans for Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester, Milan, Saline and Ypsilanti.

In each community cultural plan, local residents have identified cultural goals they want to achieve and specific action steps for achieving them.

So far this fall, two Ann Arbor cultural planning meetings have been held and reactions to them have been mixed. Some attendees are engaging in such community-planning discussions for the first time and are excited by the prospect. Others, who may have been around longer, question whether anything concrete will result from these talks. (After all, this is Ann Arbor and folks do like to talk and talk.) Still others worry that “the right people” aren't at the table.

These are all valid reactions. It is exciting to dream of a better future. Conversations have taken place before and led to naught. People are busy and it's hard to get representatives from all sectors to participate in meetings.

But the important thing is that such conversations are taking place and that participants are taking them seriously.

The fact that city representatives, such as Mayor John Heiftje, are finding time to attend and listen to the concerns of the cultural sector reflects an increasing awareness of the importance of safeguarding our arts and cultural assets.

The fact that people are concerned about the goals and strategies that this group will identify says that folks are taking the planning process seriously and offers hope that action will follow discussion. And the fact that there are new faces among the “usual suspects” says that more voices are participating, even if the pace is slow.

The future of Ann Arbor and the future of it's cultural sector are inextricably intertwined. The health and well-being of one will affect the health and well-being of the other in ways that involve economic vitality, educational excellence, retention of young people, and personal satisfaction.

If you're interested in learning more about the Ann Arbor Cultural Plan, in sharing your thoughts or in participating in our next meeting, please feel free to contact me at tamara@a3arts.org or 734-213-2566.

The next Ann Arbor Cultural Plan Planning Meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 4 to 5:30 p.m at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave.

Arts and culture reflect who we are as a people and this plan is intended to reflect who we are as a community.

Tamara Real is executive director of the Arts Alliance and is a regular columnist for Business Review.

Comments

uawisok

Fri, Oct 23, 2009 : 2:31 p.m.

rents too high for artist to thrive....A2 has become like a Birmingham that votes democratic....Ypsi and Grand Rapids have a better enviroment for artists...Maybe the city could start highering local artist instead of someone from Germany...A2 has lost its hippie edge, too many yuppies driving beamers

Tamara Real

Fri, Oct 23, 2009 : 9:36 a.m.

Thanks all for your input. It appears that part of my story was not clear. This effort is not being run by "the government." The Arts Alliance is a private, 501(c)3 organization that is funded primarily by contributions from private-sector foundations and individuals, although we used to get a tiny bit of funding from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, a state agency. The term "cultural planning" does sound kind of Orwellian, I guess, but it's a shorthand that I've just grown accustomed to using. It's not the intention to dictate what kinds of art happens in our community - you're exactly right that creative enterprises succeed best when they're organic. What we are interested in what David Bardallis mentioned: deliberately creating conditions in which culture can take root and grow. If there's a general sense that musicians can't practice their craft in Ann Arbor because facilities don't exist to serve them (appropriate recording facilities, infrastructure to help them find a drummer when a band's regular becomes ill, for example), then those are issues we can work on. But just thinking that conditions will magically arise that will provide rent-subsized rehearsal space or public recognition for the arts sector is pretty naive. Things happen because people make them happen - whether it's making music or transforming a vacant building into an arts facility. I hope that gives a fuller sense of my thinking. Feel free to contact me on my email - tamara@a3arts.org - if you have concrete suggestions to add.

Ann Arbor Resident

Fri, Oct 23, 2009 : 8:05 a.m.

I agree with the other posters. Planning of a culture sounds very cold and controlling to me, like a corporate plan to convert to their products for profit or like an European central government plan. Let the culture evolve organically. This committee and its goals sounds like a select few trying to obtain funding and control of their own vision. Why should the government fund culture?

HappySenior

Fri, Oct 23, 2009 : 5:40 a.m.

Let's see. The government holds a meeting for interested citizens on a subject that has vocal advocates. The government has or hires people to run the discussion and take the notes and tally the results. The government then tells everyone the conclusion. It is always the conclusion the government wanted. The process is rigged. Stop and think about it. Do you want the government making decisions about what is art and what culture is allowed in your town? "The future of Ann Arbor and the future of it's cultural sector are inextricably intertwined." Wake up, please. You are being hoodwinked.

David Bardallis

Thu, Oct 22, 2009 : 11:10 p.m.

I tend to be highly skeptical that culture, or anything else for that matter, can be centrally planned by some committee. Oh, maybe people can deliberately create conditions in which a particular culture can take root and grow, but the idea of holding meetings for "cultural planning" strikes me as silly at best. The more organic a culture, the better, in my opinion. Something as messy and human as "culture" doesn't lend itself to "planning." Just my two cents.