Community Input Sought on Developing Plan to Incorporate Arts & Culture
into the Fabric of Erie County Life; Three Public Meetings Scheduled, Online Community Survey Activated for Public Input
ERIE COUNTY, NY— Erie County, in partnership with the Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance (“GBCA”), has begun the development of a Cultural Plan (‘the Plan”). The Plan is intended to provide a framework for local and external entities to work together to incorporate Erie County’s vibrant arts and culture sector into the everyday fabric of our community to raise the region's profile. In 2022, not-for-profit arts and culture spending in Western New York totaled $192 million, generated $381.4 million in economic activity, and supported 8,221 jobs (Western New York Region, Arts & Economic Prosperity 6, Americans for the Arts).
Seeking to embed arts and cultural development more deeply across community sectors (e.g. business, tourism, education, workforce development), the Plan will provide guidance on how to promote, encourage, and increase support for and output from the region's artistic and cultural assets for a shared future that is flourishing and resilient. Critical to this process will be the Plan's ability to ensure and elicit equity, inclusion, collaboration, and transparency.
Erie County residents and visitors will be the foundation of the Cultural Plan's development. Through engaging and collaborative focus groups, community events, surveys, and public meetings the engagement process will capture the stories, culture, feedback, and insights of residents and visitors.
To facilitate online engagement, a Cultural Plan community survey will be available on June 17th for anyone to take at erie.gov/CulturalPlan. Physical copies of the survey will be available at libraries and in county offices. Call (716) 858-1916 for a copy of the survey.
In addition, three public meetings have been scheduled for in-person participation:
- Southtowns Public Meeting - Monday June 24th from 6pm - 8pm at the Emery Park Ski Lodge (Park Address: 2084 Emery Road South Wales, NY 14139). Click here for a park map
- City Public Meeting - Tuesday June 25th from 6pm - 8pm at Torn Space Theatre (612 Fillmore Ave, Buffalo, NY 14212)
- Northtowns Public Meeting - Wednesday June 26th from 6pm - 8pm at Clarence High School Lecture Hall (9625 Main St, Clarence, NY 14031). Please park in the rear of the building.
- If you cannot attend in person, please join us virtually: register here (https://shorturl.at/KJCiK) for access to the webinar.
The Cultural Plan process began with the appointment of a Steering Committee and an Advisory Committee. The Steering and Advisory Committees include residents, artists, business owners, and cultural art organization leadership.
Rounding out the Plan’s project team are AEA Consulting and Jacques Planning & Consulting Services, who were selected through the County’s RFP process to facilitate this planning work. The consulting team provides a unique combination of national cultural and creative planning experience, community engagement and planning, research, data analysis, and consensus building.
The final Cultural Plan document will recommend actionable and creative strategies that utilize resources locally, nationally, and internationally. The document will be a clear and well-rounded action plan, with a framework for cooperation, and creating and assessing impact.
The Cultural Plan process is funded in part by Erie County, Fund for the Arts, Cullen Foundation, and Fierle Family Foundation through the efforts of GBCA, and a NYS Empire State Development Strategic Planning and Feasibility Study grant.
For more information:
On the Cultural Plan, participation, and the Plan team, visit https://www4.erie.gov/culturalplan/
On the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning, visit
https://www3.erie.gov/environment/
On the Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance, visit http://greaterbuffaloculturalalliance.com/about/
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