Join us for a playfully fun community event where we talk about arts, culture, and environment in Akron! We’ll cover what we have today and what we’d like to see in the future while creating a public art piece that will be displayed in Akron.

There will be 11 identical community workshops held in 11 different Akron neighborhoods throughout the summer, so select the location closest to home or work and help us create an art project with local artists while talking about the future of arts, culture, and environment in Akron!

This event is free and all ages are welcome to attend! We encourage anyone who lives, works, or invests in the City of Akron to be involved in this cultural planning process every step of the way. For more information, visit www.AkronCulturalPlan.com.

What is a Cultural Plan?
A cultural plan is a living document intended to examine and strengthen the soul of a community through the exploration of arts, humanities, culture, natural resources, and heritage throughout all neighborhoods of Akron.

The cultural plan will develop a vision and recommendations on how the City of Akron and all of its partners can build upon our collective history and create the path to our future. ArtsNow, an independent nonprofit organization, has received private resources from GAR Foundation and Knight Foundation to work together with Akron residents, artists, cultural organizations, and regional experts to inform the cultural plan.

To develop the plan, the team will analyze the City’s current cultural priorities, assess capacity to serve neighborhoods, study the condition of cultural and environmental organizations as well as artists, and plan how the City can remain a place where arts and culture are vital to citizens’ well-being. With over $1.4 billion impacting the greater Akron area in 2018, the cultural sector is deserving of research and energy.

Starting in the spring of 2019, a variety of opportunities for public input will be offered in order to develop a clear picture of the experiences, values, and cultural priorities of the people of Akron. Together, with a broad range of research and data, public feedback will be incorporated into recommendations for sustaining and supporting art and culture throughout the City. In the Fall of 2019, a draft will be released for public review and comment. The final Cultural Plan will be released in the winter of 2019, providing a living blueprint for supporting art and culture across all neighborhoods and integrating the voices of the full community.