Mayor Katjana Ballantyne announces that the City and the Somerville Arts Council have launched the next phase of the Somerville Cultural Capacity Plan, consisting of nearly 20 community conversations open to the public and organized by interest (such as visual artists or event organizers).   

“Arts and culture are at the center of what makes Somerville the wonderfully unique and innovative city that it is,” said Mayor Ballantyne. “These community conversations will inform our cultural capacity planning efforts which aim to not only nurture the current artistic community but also to ensure that they continue to thrive.” 

The discussions will be facilitated by local Cultural Ambassadors in addition to City staff serving as Advisors. These conversations will address the question: How can we help arts and culture thrive in Somerville? The full list of dates and topics are below. 

“Community participation in this process is paramount, and we are excited about the range of conversations we are able to have as a part of the Cultural Capacity Plan,” says Gregory Jenkins, Director of the Somerville Arts Council. “That these conversations are being led by community ambassadors who are intimately engaged in these issues will deepen both the information we are able to glean and the details of the plan itself”. 

About the Somerville Cultural Capacity Plan  

The Somerville Cultural Capacity Plan (SCCP) will drive a bold vision, articulate a clear strategy, and center creative people and cultural vitality at the heart of Somerville’s future.  

The SCCP will be grounded in conversations  across diverse cultural communities that will foster a shared understanding of the City’s arts and culture history, current strengths and weaknesses, as well as outlining goals, priorities, and strategies to implement them. 

With the third largest share of architects and designers, and the fourth largest concentration of visual artists, musicians, and other performing artists out of any city or town in Massachusetts, Somerville is a hub of the local creative economy. While the city’s recent building boom has created the potential for the development of new arts spaces, the arts community is questioning its ability to capitalize on this growth and flourish in the future. This concern stems from the challenges brought on by COVID-19 as well as organizational capacity, and institutional support. To learn more about the challenges artists face in Somerville, please see the Somerville Arts Space Risk Assessment, https://somervilleartscouncil.org/spacework  

Building on previous cultural planning efforts in Union Square and pre-planning work initiated in 2020, the Somerville Cultural Plan will provide the container for cross-cultural conversations that will build capacity for cultural change by establishing the vision, policy framework, implementation strategies, organizational structures, and funding requirements needed to develop Somerville’s cultural community in ways that weave arts and culture into other policy and practice areas and help this community to flourish. The City of Somerville has hired Forecast Public Art and Solomon Office to lead this effort. This process will continue through September 2023. 

For further questions, please contact Dan at Forecastpublicart.org.