Providence leaders propose $60K cultural plan

Hoping to capitalize on the thriving arts industry in Providence, Mayor David N. Cicilline and the city Department of Art, Culture and Tourism have launched an ambitious $60,000 project to prepare a cultural plan for the capital city.
“The cultural plan will explore the current strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities for the city’s arts and cultural sector,” Cicilline said. “The focus will be on stimulating economic development, building links with the creative economy, developing a strong network of arts learning opportunities, and enhancing the quality of life in Providence.”
The mayor’s comments came during a breakfast Sept. 24 at the Renaissance Providence Hotel, attended by approximately 200 people, to announce the start of work in earnest on Creative Providence: A Cultural Plan for the Capital City. A 21-member steering committee will also be appointed to lead the process. The plan should be done by June, city officials said.
Members of the steering committee include City Councilmen Luis Aponte and Cliff Wood, Hope Alswang, director of the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, and representatives of such groups as The Steelyard, Rhode Island Housing, Textron Inc., R.I. State Council for the Arts, Bank Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, GTECH Corp. and AS220.
Lynne McCormack, director of the city’s Department of Art, Culture
and Tourism, said the idea for preparing a Providence cultural plan has developed over at least the last year.
Two consultants will help lead the effort: Robert Leaver, of Providence-based New Commons, which describes itself as a “think, link and do tank,” and Craig Dreeszen, of Dreeszen & Associates in Florence, Mass.
Conveying statistics from a June 2007 nationwide study done by Americans for the Arts and based on fiscal year 2005 data, Cicilline said the local arts industry in Providence generated $111.81 million in economic activity during a single year, supporting 2,759 full-time- equivalent jobs and generating $55.56 million in annual household income, twice the national average.
According to the same study, the arts in Providence were responsible for more than $11 million in state and local tax revenue, Cicilline said, and “our arts organizations are spending more than $40 million annually, and their audiences almost twice that at $71 million – six times that of cities of similar size.” The city’s booming arts scene has been featured in such publications as The Wall Street Journal and American Style magazine.
The mayor directly addressed the question of why Providence needs a cultural plan now. He suggested two key reasons: to sustain the city’s success as an “arts and culture mecca,” and to increase the scope of artistic programming, marketing and operations. “We must develop an intentional plan where the arts and culture are at the center of conversations about how the city can face – and meet – new challenges,” he told the breakfast group.
The cities of Philadelphia, and Charleston, S.C., each prepared cultural plans in the mid-1990s, Dreeszen said. The Charleston plan focuses on special events, such as an arts festival and farmers market, while the Philadelphia plan emphasizes marketing and services, with a “Campaign for Culture” advertising effort and preparation of a “Philly Fun Guide.”
A special Web site has been set up for creation of the cultural plan, www.creativeprov.org, and McCormack stressed that candid public input is welcome.
Two community forums have been scheduled to discuss the local “creative ecosystem,” on Oct. 7 at the convention center and Nov. 18 at Roger Williams Park Casino, both from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The state has tried to encourage the many separate tourism organizations in Rhode Island, which include the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, to work together when possible to capitalize on Rhode Island’s small size. But David DePetrillo, outgoing director of tourism at the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, said Providence’s solo effort nonetheless “fits in perfectly” with ongoing geotourism efforts statewide that emphasize the uniqueness of each part of Rhode Island.
“I’ve always been a supporter of focusing on the differences in Rhode Island. We are not a homogenous state,” he said. Geotourism aims to enhance and sustain the natural and cultural resources of a particular area, or “what’s authentic about the state,” explained DePetrillo. He announced last week that he will retire Sept. 30, after 35 years in the state’s tourism division.
Arts and culture are among the capital city’s greatest strengths, he noted, so it makes sense to formally plan specific ways to sustain them and to tell people about them.
“It isn’t just for visitors,” he said of geotourism. “When you sustain and promote these kinds of resources, it’s great for the residents.” •

No posts to display