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Written by John Speck
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Friday, 16 October 2009 |
Build community and foster neighborhood vitality through increased access and diversified cultural participation
Invest in neighborhood art, culture, and creativity to sustain diversity and engage communities.
A vibrant Providence depends on activities and institutions that are comprised of – and serve – the many cultures in the city’s 25 distinct neighborhoods. Providence is rich in cultural diversity and artistic and creative expression, yet for many of its residents, limited money, education, and transportation prevent them from fully accessing and participating in arts and cultural opportunities.
Participation in arts and culture builds communities and stabilizes neighborhoods’ social diversity. The cultural plan works to break down barriers to participation, make the local arts and humanities communities more representative of the city’s population, and pave the way for fuller access to the arts for all. To do this, we must broaden our understanding of cultural participation, recognize and support the many ways in which citizens engage with the arts, and promote Providence’s culturally distinct neighborhoods as sites of rich cross-cultural exchange. Authentic cultural participation includes a wide variety of artistic and cultural expressions, reflective of a pluralistic American society.
Outcomes of Cultural Planning
- Arts, culture, and creativity will be present in each neighborhood as a lifelong creative learning and community-building strategy.
- Public policies and private programs will empower people to express their own creativity and explore their individual cultural curiosity.
- Each neighborhood will have a signature cultural center that utilizes the existing civic architecture: public libraries, recreation centers, schools, parks, and community centers.
- All people should feel welcome – socially, physically, economically, and intellectually – and have opportunities to participate in cultural offerings that represent and reinforce the many cultures and wide-range of creative practices present throughout the city.
- Cultural life will attract people to – and link – Providence’s neighborhoods.
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Creative Providence Cultural Assessment Findings Report (
Art New England Dec 09 -Jan 10
