5 PRIORITIES +
Themes most important to address in the Greater Louisville Area.
15 STRATEGIES +
To achieve the priorities.
56 ACTIONS
To complete the strategies.
“America’s 20 Most Cultured Cities”
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This plan was created to answer one question -
HOW CAN ARTS AND CULTURE
BEST SERVE THIS COMMUNITY?
Arts, culture and creativity are essential components to Greater Louisville’s authentic and distinctive identity. Greater Louisville is a vibrant and livable community with countless cultural assets and creative professionals. Louisville is one of the only cities its size to boast a resident orchestra, ballet, opera, regional theatre, children’s theatre and fine arts museum.The region is known for its museum row, numerous historical sites, gallery districts, the creation of new work and its rich live music scene. Arts and culture are alive across the region, from downtown venues to neighborhood parks, libraries, schools and community centers.
THIS PLAN WAS CREATED TO ANSWER ONE QUESTION — HOW CAN ARTS AND CULTURE BEST SERVE THIS COMMUNITY?
Arts and culture have the power to transform the region, to help advance a more competitive, economically stronger, more educated, creative and compassionate Greater Louisville. Imagine Greater Louisville 2020 provides a shared vision for the role arts, culture and creativity can play in this stronger future. Imagine Greater Louisville 2020 is a call to action for all of us — across our community’s sectors — public, corporate, philanthropic, education, and cultural — to leverage our creative resources to address our community’s greatest challenges and opportunities.
A CULTURALLY VIBRANT REGION
The Greater Louisville region has a rich legacy and a vibrant contemporary spectrum of performing, visual and community arts and culture. It boasts a long history with anchor institutions of national and international acclaim, including theatre, orchestra, ballet, opera, museums, a performing arts center, and more. There is an increasingly dynamic landscape of mid-size, new and emerging organizations and festivals, and local and nationally renowned youth arts organizations.
The visual arts community continues to thrive and evolve. The local music scene has long nurtured top talent in a collaborative, livable environment. And, the region already has in place a strong network of over 100 organizations, through the Arts & Culture Alliance, that exists to leverage the collaborative power of the region’s arts and culture sector.
CREATED FOR GREATER LOUISVILLE,
BY GREATER LOUISVILLE
Over the course of 18 months, this community-based plan was created under the leadership of a cross-sector steering committee. Nearly 5,000 people brought their voices to its creation and their voices are reflected throughout this Plan. Imagine Greater Louisville 2020 is grounded in the work of the Greater Louisville Project and its deep drivers of change — Economic Growth, Educational Attainment, Health, and Quality of Place — and supports community-wide plans from other sectors such as Vision Louisville 2020, Greater Louisville Inc.’s (GLI) regional Advantage Louisville, and the strategic plans of major educational, tourism and philanthropic partners. The plan that follows and the priorities that emerged through the planning process connect the dots to these community initiatives and provide a blueprint for the ways arts and culture can help transform our region for the future.
Click the priorities below to see recommended strategies and actions for each:
THE TIME IS NOW
Following on the heels of Mayor Fischer’s Vision Louisville 2020 plan, GLI’s Advantage Louisville, Community Foundation of Southern Indiana’s Needs Assessment and other community initiatives — the time is right for the city—and the region—to imagine a new future for how arts and culture can help us to grow, compete, thrive and solve community problems.
In the 21st Century, Louisville and other midsize cities must create a new vision for the role of the arts and culture in building a stronger region. This vision must leverage the resources of the entire community, across organizational silos, public and private sectors and cultural and neighborhood boundaries. Only through comprehensive community engagement and planning can Louisville truly harness the power of arts and culture to create a more vibrant and competitive future.
AN INCLUSIVE PROCESS
Critical to the planning process was extensive public engagement to ensure this Plan truly serves the entire regional community. The consultant team conducted an initial phase of engagement, from fall 2015 through spring 2016, hearing from Greater Louisville residents through interviews, public workshops and an online survey.
Participants discussed what makes their communities vibrant, the challenges and opportunities facing the region’s arts and culture practitioners and organizations, and the ways a Master Plan could help enhance quality of life, spur economic development, and advance cultural tourism, in turn helping retain and attract talent, businesses, and visitors.
IMAGINE IF GREATER LOUISVILLE BUILDS ON WHAT IS WORKING
- “Top Music Scene in America”
- “Top World Festival & Events City”
- 10 Cities that Creatives Should Move to
- 14 Most Underrated Cities in America
- Best Places to Travel in 2016
- 48 Hours in Louisville
- Top 14 Places to Visit in 2016
- 10 Up-and-Coming U.S. Cities to Visit NOW
- Top Destinations on the Rise
ADVOCATING FOR ARTS & CULTURE
In addition to the implementation of the strategies and actions outlined in the Plan, it is also critically important to advance clear and coordinated arts and cultural advocacy that informs, raises awareness of and lobbies for issues and actions important to the health of the region’s arts and culture – for the good of the sector and for the good that the sector can do.
Priorities in this area include mobilizing a sector-wide shared advocacy agenda through the Arts and Culture Alliance and developing legislative, policy and funding priorities working with regional and statewide partner organizations such as Greater Louisville Inc. and One Southern IN to coordinate lobbying and advocacy efforts.
Imagine Greater Louisville 2020 connects arts and culture with critical community issues and positions the cultural sector as a problem-solving partner, with consequent increases in funding, influence and capacity.
