Shaping Boston's Cultural Plan

When the creative community convenes, big ideas are born. And last week, all the players in the Boston arts and cultural scene joined the City Department of Arts and Culture to take part in the Cultural Planning Process at the #BostonCreates Town Hall at English High School in Jamaica Plain.

Boston Chief of Arts & Culture Julie Burros and her department teammates first walked the crowd through the roll-out of the Cultural Plan over 15 months and its data-collection goals and community engagement opportunities along the way. Equipped with the context of the Plan, the audience broke up into smaller groups that better suited discussion. In these smaller groups, introductions and icebreakers gave way to constructive dialogue that placed Boston’s creative landscape under a microscope, and inspired thoughtful solutions to some of the problems that the city faces. Each group was able to produce 3 main topical categories with which the cultural planning team could begin implementation in the coming months.

Wrapping up the event, the #BostonCreates team left us some next steps: sign up to get involved in neighborhood teams and look out for a survey that seeks input from the Boston arts and cultural community. Our voices will be critical in shaping the Cultural Plan.