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photo by Iaritza Menjivar

Cultural Planning


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As of April 9, 2022, we have issued an RFP to solict a consultant to develop a city-wide cultural plan.  The RFP is issued via our Purchasing Dept. here. 

During height of Covid-19 in 2020/21, the Arts Council held several large community "town halls" to hear from the community, provide them updates on City services, and discuss plans on staged reopenings.  During these meetings, community members expressed a desire for the City and Arts Council to embark on a long range cultural planning process. 

During the summer/fall of 2021 we worked with TDC to conduct a "preliminary" planning process with the following goals in mind: 

* Identify needs and potential solutions as perceived by artists and other stakeholders;
* Assess which topics should be addressed in cultural planning; 
* Learn about perceptions of the SAC and its role in the community; 
* Gauge if stakeholders equate cultural planning with recommending changes for SAC, the City of Somerville, or in the City writ large;
* Test stakeholder willingness to commit time to a larger planning effort

Below are the reports from this preliminary planning work: 

Cultural Planning Pre-planning Exploration Findings

SAC Cultural Planning Readiness Survey Results

SAC BIPOC Focus Group Summary