NURTURE
Countywide Arts & Culture Planning
Welcome Friends!
This is a project to develop Arts & Culture Plans for:
Auglaize County, Ohio
Blackford County, Indiana
Jay County, Indiana
​
What does that mean?
Using arts and culture to enhance quality of life & strengthen local economies
What is the process?
-
List the cultural assets that make your county great
-
Identify growth opportunities from that list
-
Envision the most sustainable and vibrant arts community we can imagine
-
Test and prioritize the ideas that emerge
-
Present the plans to your county commissions for their support
It's a big deal.
​
​You can help!
-
Want to add to our list? CLICK HERE
-
Want to participate in other ways? CLICK HERE
-
Know others who could help? Share this webpage​
​​​
Still have questions?
Like what's already on the list? CLICK HERE
A form link to share? https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OurTown24​
Something else? No problem. Drop us a line.
Peterson@SaraPetersonConsulting.com or Paige@sharpvisionarts.com
​​
Thank you!
Sara & Paige
​
​​​​
Thanks to the NEA for funding this project as a part of the Our Town Program.
Our Town is the NEA’s creative placemaking grants program. Through project-based funding, the program supports activities that integrate arts, culture, and design into local efforts that strengthen communities over the long term. Our Town projects engage a wide range of local stakeholders in efforts to advance local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes in communities. Competitive projects are responsive to unique local conditions, develop meaningful and substantive engagement in communities, center equity, advance artful lives, and lay the groundwork for long-term systems change.
Thanks to the community leaders who have funding and/or supported this work.
The Board of Commissioners of Auglaize County
The Board of Commissioners of Blackford County
The Board of Commissioners of Jay County
City of Montpelier
Patrick J. McGowan, Mayor, City of St Marys
John Boggs, Mayor, City of Portland
Travis C. Richards, Executive Director, Jay County Development Corporation
Jeremy W. Gully, Superintendent, Jay School Corporation
Cheri Brown, Director, Purdue Extension Blackford County
The Portland Foundation
St. Marys Community Foundation
Mike Medler, President, Arts Place Corporate Board
FAQs
A Cultural Asset is someone or something that contributes to a community’s creativity, knowledge, traditions, culture, meaning, and vitality.
They can be the places you visit to express your heritage or the resources you use to create as an artist or maker.
They can be physical things like cultural facilities, specific buildings, or physical works of art.
They can even be untouchable things like annual events, shared cultural stories, or cultural landmarks and icons that no longer exist.
They can also be individual artists, cultural leaders, community groups, or others who actively participate in the arts and culture community. ​
Need more ideas?
Click here​
​​​​
​
What happens to the list?
Two things.
First, we compile the information for use in the planning process - to educate participants on all that is already in place, to identify opportunities for growth, and to inspire them about the future.
Then we share parts of it with the plan so that community leaders can use it in implementation. (Don't worry, nothing personal.)
Maybe it beefs up the county tourism site
Maybe the plan includes a studio tour or public art trail
There are so many possibilities...
​
How have others used theirs?
Once the list was done, communities have used them in many ways. Here are some examples.
​
​​More about the project...
Click here: Indiana Economic Digest
​​​​​​​​​
Find a broken link?
Please send a note.