Community Arts & Traditional Arts

City of Bangor Collaborates with
Community on Cultural Survey & Plan

	Rollin Thurlow at the National Folk Festival demonstrating canoe making to a younger generation.

It is a ‘first’ for the state of Maine. The city government of Bangor is backing a Discovery Research cultural inventory and planning project (n inventory of cultural assets) for the Bangor community with the creation of a Commission for Cultural Development. The city requested funding in April of 2006, and was awarded a $15,000 grant from the Maine Arts Commission in June. It is the first time a city or town government has created a cultural commission as part of the city government. The City of Bangor is matching the $15,000 Maine Arts Commission grant with cash and in-kind services to the project. Sally Bates, the Economic and Community Development Officer for the City of Bangor, says the city has been very supportive of cultural institutions, particularly as engines of economic development. As a result, the city has funded some development projects, including “bricks and mortar” efforts.

In 2005, the Bangor City Council passed an ordinance creating the Commission for Cultural Development. The commission was created to review and coordinate all funding requests from cultural organizations, in order to facilitate a smooth budget process. The commission also has the authority to review all requests to place art and monuments in public places and the authority to recommend an annual funding budget for cultural organizations.

At the same time the Bangor City Council created the Commission for Cultural Development, it passed an ordinance directing the development of a five-year cultural plan for the city. That cultural plan will be based on the cultural assessment that is conducted in the Discovery Research process. The Discovery Research project will encompass more than inventory. Bates says it will also help the commission determine how well the city’s cultural institutions meet the community’s needs and desires. “If we do not know what the community wants, it is difficult to know what the infrastructure should be,” she says. “Once the community is heard, we will know what they think we should have for infrastructure; who the financial partners should be, and what should be the time line.”

	Shallop at the National Folk Festival.

The project is gathering information from Bangor residents through the use of an online survey, public meetings and focus groups. Bates stresses that a participant does not have to be a Bangor resident to respond to the survey. The survey can be found at www.bangormaine.gov. Look for the link in the left hand column. Organizers are also handing out information on the survey at local events and asking employers to include information on the survey with paychecks. Bates says the commission is hoping for a broad participation, “We will find out what the community thinks are the strengths of the community and what are the shortcomings.” Beyond that, Bates thinks just participating in the survey will encourage people to be part of the community’s arts and culture. She also hopes the process will build audiences and strengthen collaboration between organizations. For example, museums could develop museum passes that are honored at more than one venue. Theatres, museums and symphonies could develop packages and cross-promote programs and memberships. Some cultural organizations might find more ways to streamline operations through co-operation and joint ventures.

Bates says the project has already received hundreds of responses to the survey. She is looking forward to the surprises she finds in those surveys. “The valuable lessons,” she notes, “are the surprises.”

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