Napa Valley residents love the place they call home. This was the strongest theme Arts Council Napa Valley heard at our six “town hall” cultural planning meetings held all across Napa County. This love of place is what made the arts so important to everyone at every meeting. Attendees recognized the role of arts in their personal lives, in the lives of their children, and in their communities. They saw the arts as the means to make their lives richer, and also to connect with one another.
“(American Canyon residents) don’t see what’s going on here,” said Margaret Oliveri at the American Canyon meeting. “How do we communicate to them what’s going on in their own backyard?” “I’d like to see this community attend more arts events here,” said Linda Wilds Beltz in Calistoga. “There are still people we haven’t reached.” This lack of communication was a major theme at every meeting. All of the towns and cities- including Napa- considered themselves a “small town”; and yet all of them bemoaned the lack of communication between artists, arts organizations, and the larger community. There was a strong call for greater information sharing and collaboration. “…We all do compete a bit, but it’s finding a way to collaborate in exposing the variety of our cultures, institutions, and becoming more of a collective,” said Jennifer Garden of the Napa Valley Museum in Yountville. “Of course there are a lot of different towns but how can we work all as a valley together, and not be so separate. How can we merge?”
One of the solutions voiced in every meeting was the creation of a community cultural center. “I envision an arts center that incorporates all the arts. Film, video, performing, visual, to play off each other,” said David Garden in St Helena. “I’d like to see a facility that does include a performance arts place as well as exhibition space,” said Louisa Lucas in Calistoga. But while attendees agreed on the need for more centralized arts, many pointed out the challenges of building yet another venue. “Every time we talk about this problem we talk about how we need a building here, a building there,” said Carlee Leftwich in Napa. “For those of us who have been involved in it, (we found that) you don’t solve a problem by building a building. You solve a problem by getting a group of people together.”
Attendees were also concerned about the lack of arts opportunities for Napa Valley youth. “The arts are the slice of the pie that is missing in our schools that could help make children more whole human beings,” wrote an American Canyon attendee on an evaluation sheet. Arts organizations who provide children’s programming both in and out of school called for a way to create more compelling programs. “We need to map where the children are getting arts in Napa County, what is happening, so those of us who are creating arts programs can respond to that,” said Napan Kathryn Reasoner, of the di Rosa Preserve.
There was also a strong interest for greater business involvement in the arts, and attendees called for more partnerships between businesses and artists and arts organizations. “(We need) more involvement with artists in local establishments,” said Doug Cook of the Brannan Cottage Inn in Calistoga. “It would be amazing if Angwin could have a café,” said Will Callnan in Angwin. “One thing that is excellent about cafés… is that you can have an opening night, rotating shows, something that is on the main street… Somewhere everyone feels comfortable, a meeting point, a connection point.”
Finally, every community called for greater governmental support for the arts. The challenges of funding and the time consumption of fundraising were brought up in every meeting. Each community also discussed the need for public art. “What I would suggest is that if the people of this valley truly want art, spiritual, and for commercial meaning of it… if we really want that, then I wonder if it isn’t time when a serious dialogue should begin for public funding for the arts,” said Alvin Lee Block in Napa. “To our political leaders: this is what we want; we are willing to pay for it.”
Through our town hall meetings, ACNV discovered unique needs in every community, and common threads for the county as a whole. All meeting minutes, as well as town summaries are available on the ACNV website at www.artscouncilnapavalley.org. The next step in our planning process is to look at all of this community input, as well as all the data we’ve uncovered in the last ten months, and begin to draft the cultural plan for Napa County. Stay tuned to the ACNV website to watch the process, and to get involved in your local arts!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Next Steps
It's been many months since I posted about the cultural planning process. I apologize for my absence, but I've been so busy writing content for our local papers and managing the process itself that it's been very difficult to keep up another form of communication! But it has been an amazing few months, and we are thrilled with our process so far.
During three weeks of September and October, we held six "town hall" planning meetings, designed to get public feedback and hear from the community at large. The meetings were very well attended, with artists, business owners, local governmental representatives, educators, arts administrators, community members, and more. The greatest and most gratifying thing I learned from these meetings was the love of place that folks who live in Napa County share. Everyone who spoke about their city or town did so with love and passion and it's a beautiful thing to witness.
I'm torn between suggesting that six meetings in two and a half weeks is not advisable, and saying that the momentum it builds is worth numerous new gray hairs. Regardless, it was an inspiring process. Detailed meeting notes, as well as summaries and evaulations can be found at www.artscouncilnapavalley.org/cp/minutes.shtml. Whether or not you attended these meetings, this site provides some compelling reading and I suggest that everyone who also loves this place read up on their neighbors' thoughts.
What's next? Well, after ten months of data collection and discovery, it's time to start crafting the plan. The first meeting of our Strategy Team is in the beginning of November. It is that Team's charge to analyze all of our data, pull out the common themes and threads, and begin to draft the plan itself. We've been able to put together an amazing A-Team of passionate thinkers and I'm very excited to see where all of this leads.
At ACNV, we are also in the midst of finalizing the Napa County Arts & Culture Commission, as well as continuing our work on creating a percent for art program for the City of Napa, so our work continues as the planning rolls along.
More soon...
During three weeks of September and October, we held six "town hall" planning meetings, designed to get public feedback and hear from the community at large. The meetings were very well attended, with artists, business owners, local governmental representatives, educators, arts administrators, community members, and more. The greatest and most gratifying thing I learned from these meetings was the love of place that folks who live in Napa County share. Everyone who spoke about their city or town did so with love and passion and it's a beautiful thing to witness.
I'm torn between suggesting that six meetings in two and a half weeks is not advisable, and saying that the momentum it builds is worth numerous new gray hairs. Regardless, it was an inspiring process. Detailed meeting notes, as well as summaries and evaulations can be found at www.artscouncilnapavalley.org/cp/minutes.shtml. Whether or not you attended these meetings, this site provides some compelling reading and I suggest that everyone who also loves this place read up on their neighbors' thoughts.
What's next? Well, after ten months of data collection and discovery, it's time to start crafting the plan. The first meeting of our Strategy Team is in the beginning of November. It is that Team's charge to analyze all of our data, pull out the common themes and threads, and begin to draft the plan itself. We've been able to put together an amazing A-Team of passionate thinkers and I'm very excited to see where all of this leads.
At ACNV, we are also in the midst of finalizing the Napa County Arts & Culture Commission, as well as continuing our work on creating a percent for art program for the City of Napa, so our work continues as the planning rolls along.
More soon...
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
It's Survey Time!
Are you a singer, painter, sculptor, writer, photographer, designer, actor, musician, or other creative type? Are you part of an artist’s collective, musical band, theater company, gallery, cultural group, arts venue, or any other arts group? If so, it’s time to get your voice heard for Napa Valley arts. Arts Council Napa Valley, as part of our cultural planning process, has launched two separate surveys: one for individual creative people, and one for arts and cultural organizations. These anonymous surveys take only about five minutes to complete, and will give us vital information about your needs and challenges, as well as the first hard data on the economic impact of Napa Valley arts. At the end of the survey, you can enter to win fabulous prizes including a boat trip down the Napa River, lunch for two at Uva, a 2-day painting retreat, a show at the Opera House, and more!
Survey for Individual Artists of All Disciplines:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=53923605296
Survey for Arts Organizations:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=550423624198
If you are a creative person, or part of an arts organization, we invite you to fill out your survey today!
These surveys will help us further discover the story of arts in this community. The “maps” we developed of the layout of artists and arts organizations in each city create a startling picture. We can now compare populations of each city not just with their arts resources, but also with artist populations. For example, St Helena, with 5% of the population, has 16% of the artists and 18% of the arts resources in the county. This begs a question: why do artists want to live in St Helena? Yountville, with only 2% of the population, has 3% of the artists and a whopping 12% of the resources. If we knew nothing about Yountville, other than these statistics, we’d have to wonder: does Yountville have the population to support all of its arts resources? American Canyon, with 12% of the population, has only 2% of county arts resources. As the fastest growing city, how can we ensure that American Canyon arts resources grow to match its population? And Napa is emerging as the Big Kahuna of Napa Valley arts: 59% of the population, 59% of the artists, and 55% of arts resources.
Of course, these statistics are only a part of the story, but they go far in identifying the opportunities and challenges in each unique city. Moving forward, we’ll use all of this information to help shape the cultural plan. For instance, how do we play off the strengths in the city of Napa? How do we nurture the cities whose arts are less developed? Only through community input can we best answer these questions. The deadline to fill out the survey is May 4th; please join us in our effort to make an arts and cultural plan for Napa Valley, and fill out the survey today.
Survey for Individual Artists of All Disciplines:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=53923605296
Survey for Arts Organizations:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=550423624198
If you are a creative person, or part of an arts organization, we invite you to fill out your survey today!
These surveys will help us further discover the story of arts in this community. The “maps” we developed of the layout of artists and arts organizations in each city create a startling picture. We can now compare populations of each city not just with their arts resources, but also with artist populations. For example, St Helena, with 5% of the population, has 16% of the artists and 18% of the arts resources in the county. This begs a question: why do artists want to live in St Helena? Yountville, with only 2% of the population, has 3% of the artists and a whopping 12% of the resources. If we knew nothing about Yountville, other than these statistics, we’d have to wonder: does Yountville have the population to support all of its arts resources? American Canyon, with 12% of the population, has only 2% of county arts resources. As the fastest growing city, how can we ensure that American Canyon arts resources grow to match its population? And Napa is emerging as the Big Kahuna of Napa Valley arts: 59% of the population, 59% of the artists, and 55% of arts resources.
Of course, these statistics are only a part of the story, but they go far in identifying the opportunities and challenges in each unique city. Moving forward, we’ll use all of this information to help shape the cultural plan. For instance, how do we play off the strengths in the city of Napa? How do we nurture the cities whose arts are less developed? Only through community input can we best answer these questions. The deadline to fill out the survey is May 4th; please join us in our effort to make an arts and cultural plan for Napa Valley, and fill out the survey today.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Mapping the Arts in Napa Valley
"If you think of the Napa Valley as a paint-by-number set, then the statistics ACNV has uncovered make for a rich palette by which we can deepen our view of the local arts assets and how they fit into the broader landscape," said cultural planning consultant Morrie Warshawski. These statistics, generated from our new Cultural Resources Database, are critical to understanding Napa Valley arts. For the database, we are working to capture all artists, arts organizations, educational opportunities, and arts venues in Napa Valley. The more we work on this, the more we realize we have to discover. So many arts collectives, while known to their members, fly under the radar of greater public knowledge. So many artists, even those that show across the country, haven’t been involved on a local level, so finding them is complicated.
One of our greatest discoveries so far is the need to prioritize how we are creating a welcoming and inclusive environment, both for our local arts, and for this planning process. In particular, we need to strengthen our outreach to the Latino population. As of yet, we’ve not been as successful as we need to be. Although we’ve gotten terrific leads, we’ve not been able to track down all of the creative Latinos that we know are here. Over the next few months, we hope to rectify this, and find better ways to reach ALL populations, so our plan truly speaks to everyone who calls Napa Valley home.
However, even with these challenges, we have made amazing discoveries: our Individual Artist database (which includes actors, writers, painters, dancers, filmmakers, etc.) has over 1,400 artists; our Arts Organizations database has over 90 entries; and our Cultural Resources database which includes all organizations or venues that support the arts- from coffee shops that hang local art to wineries with galleries to restaurants that have live music- has over 300 entries. This planning process can be likened to a story; the Discovery Interviews were a compelling preface to what we are going to learn, and these databases reveal the first few chapters of the tale of Napa Valley arts.
Even before we begin to survey the public, we can see the foundation of what we have: where the disparities are, the surprises, the opportunities. For example, only 9% of our cultural resources in Napa County are devoted to theater arts, while 40% are focused on the visual arts. Music resources make up 23%, while film is only a paltry 3%. But even more interesting is the resources compared to city populations. The city of Napa has its fair share of cultural resources as compared to its population; but the cities of American Canyon and St Helena are opposite images. American Canyon, the fastest-growing city with 12% of the population of Napa County has only 2% of the cultural resources in the county. By contrast, St Helena, with only 5% of the county population, has 18% of the cultural resources in the county.
What does this tell us? It is too early to start to draw conclusions, but we can see some trends, such as the tremendous opportunity to build the arts in American Canyon. But next we need to look deeper: for example, St Helena clearly is rich in the arts; but what art forms are under-represented in St Helena? And what makes an art-friendly town? These are the kinds of questions we seek to answer in this process.
An analysis of all of the cities, their populations, and the art forms available is on the ACNV website at
http://www.artscouncilnapavalley.org/cp/cultural_planning.shtml#mappingwww.artscouncilnapavalley.org. Stay tuned for the launch of individual artists and arts organization surveys in the coming weeks!
One of our greatest discoveries so far is the need to prioritize how we are creating a welcoming and inclusive environment, both for our local arts, and for this planning process. In particular, we need to strengthen our outreach to the Latino population. As of yet, we’ve not been as successful as we need to be. Although we’ve gotten terrific leads, we’ve not been able to track down all of the creative Latinos that we know are here. Over the next few months, we hope to rectify this, and find better ways to reach ALL populations, so our plan truly speaks to everyone who calls Napa Valley home.
However, even with these challenges, we have made amazing discoveries: our Individual Artist database (which includes actors, writers, painters, dancers, filmmakers, etc.) has over 1,400 artists; our Arts Organizations database has over 90 entries; and our Cultural Resources database which includes all organizations or venues that support the arts- from coffee shops that hang local art to wineries with galleries to restaurants that have live music- has over 300 entries. This planning process can be likened to a story; the Discovery Interviews were a compelling preface to what we are going to learn, and these databases reveal the first few chapters of the tale of Napa Valley arts.
Even before we begin to survey the public, we can see the foundation of what we have: where the disparities are, the surprises, the opportunities. For example, only 9% of our cultural resources in Napa County are devoted to theater arts, while 40% are focused on the visual arts. Music resources make up 23%, while film is only a paltry 3%. But even more interesting is the resources compared to city populations. The city of Napa has its fair share of cultural resources as compared to its population; but the cities of American Canyon and St Helena are opposite images. American Canyon, the fastest-growing city with 12% of the population of Napa County has only 2% of the cultural resources in the county. By contrast, St Helena, with only 5% of the county population, has 18% of the cultural resources in the county.
What does this tell us? It is too early to start to draw conclusions, but we can see some trends, such as the tremendous opportunity to build the arts in American Canyon. But next we need to look deeper: for example, St Helena clearly is rich in the arts; but what art forms are under-represented in St Helena? And what makes an art-friendly town? These are the kinds of questions we seek to answer in this process.
An analysis of all of the cities, their populations, and the art forms available is on the ACNV website at
http://www.artscouncilnapavalley.org/cp/cultural_planning.shtml#mappingwww.artscouncilnapavalley.org. Stay tuned for the launch of individual artists and arts organization surveys in the coming weeks!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Dispatch from D.C.
For this latest cultural planning update, I’m writing from Washington D.C. where for the second year in a row I am attending the Arts Advocacy conference, sponsored by Americans for the Arts. A record 475 constituents showed up this year, all of us workers in and advocates for the arts. The first day of this conference is all about training on specific issues: increased funding to the National Endowment for the Arts, a bill to allow artists a fair tax deduction for gifts of their own work, and many other issues. The second day is filled with visits to our Senators and Members of Congress to request support for these bills and issues. I’ve met other arts leaders from all over California, as well as across the country, and these colleagues continue to be amazed that we have no public arts policy in Napa County, and no public funding for the arts. I’m excited to report to all of them that change is in the air for our arts community, but there is still so much work to do.
I’ve also been amazed by how many advocates from across California have talked to me about our cultural planning process. Word has spread, statewide, that we are working on this initiative, and many eyes are now on us, watching and hoping for our success. When we began thinking about launching this process, I researched how it had been done in other communities, to learn from them, and to discover the best way for this planning to be done in our community. But now I realize that we, too, have the potential to be a model for other California communities. How amazing would it be, five or ten years from now, to look back and realize that we were revolutionaries for the arts in California? We have such unique potential, such incredible opportunities in our beautiful, world-class destination, and we do have the capability to create a compelling and vibrant cultural community.
Back at home, the cultural planning process continues. We’ve completed the Discovery Interview process, and full results from those interviews are now live on our website at www.artscouncilnapavalley.org/cp/cultural_planning.shtml#interviews. We’ve posted an Executive Summary, complete with trends and quotes, as well as the full text of all the interviews. There is also a list of the interviewees, but the quotes & text are unattributed. The interviews were fascinating. There is so much passion around the arts in this community, and I am excited to harness that energy to create change in our cultural sector. This community is ready for action. “We must get the most diverse group of people possible to make this happen,” begins my favorite quote from the interviews. “Risk galore. This is worth fixing, and it can get better. We need everyone’s wisdom.“ At Arts Council Napa Valley, this is exactly what we are working to do. Please join us in this work and get your voice heard in support of Napa Valley arts.
I’ve also been amazed by how many advocates from across California have talked to me about our cultural planning process. Word has spread, statewide, that we are working on this initiative, and many eyes are now on us, watching and hoping for our success. When we began thinking about launching this process, I researched how it had been done in other communities, to learn from them, and to discover the best way for this planning to be done in our community. But now I realize that we, too, have the potential to be a model for other California communities. How amazing would it be, five or ten years from now, to look back and realize that we were revolutionaries for the arts in California? We have such unique potential, such incredible opportunities in our beautiful, world-class destination, and we do have the capability to create a compelling and vibrant cultural community.
Back at home, the cultural planning process continues. We’ve completed the Discovery Interview process, and full results from those interviews are now live on our website at www.artscouncilnapavalley.org/cp/cultural_planning.shtml#interviews. We’ve posted an Executive Summary, complete with trends and quotes, as well as the full text of all the interviews. There is also a list of the interviewees, but the quotes & text are unattributed. The interviews were fascinating. There is so much passion around the arts in this community, and I am excited to harness that energy to create change in our cultural sector. This community is ready for action. “We must get the most diverse group of people possible to make this happen,” begins my favorite quote from the interviews. “Risk galore. This is worth fixing, and it can get better. We need everyone’s wisdom.“ At Arts Council Napa Valley, this is exactly what we are working to do. Please join us in this work and get your voice heard in support of Napa Valley arts.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Shaking the Trees
We are in the thick of this "tree shaking" process, working to build this massive database of artists, arts organizations, venues, and arts education opportunities, and it is proving to be quite an undertaking. Kate, our admin assistant, has built a database so powerful, but so user-friendly, that we are thinking she should set up shop to sell her database wares. And we have volunteers across the valley helping us confirm the contact information we have, and finding the artists and arts groups we don't yet know.
During our first volunteer meeting, we had yet another brainstorm session, and also assigned various duties to everyone present. The pictures from that meeting aren't the most flattering, but we've decided to post them anyway. This first pic is during the brainstorm session, when one person or another would call out "what about that potter who sells work at the Model Bakery?" or "I heard an incredible guitar trio at a festival this summer" and all of it is recorded and then assigned to a volunteer sleuth to find the artists.
And just in case you don't think this process sounds fun, I've got pictures to prove otherwise:
I don't generally keep my eyes closed when speaking passionately about the arts, but it happens. Kate says it looks as though we are at a party, rather than a meeting; it's my hope that all volunteer meetings are as fun as they are rewarding.
Morrie and I have also been busily conducting one-on-one "Discovery Interviews" across the valley, and the process has been fascinating. The first question of the interview is "What do you see as the major issues (of any type) facing this community?" and the responses have been telling- and there are many themes. The strongest one I see so far is the divide between the Latino and Anglo populations. Other issues include, of course, traffic, land use, the high number of non-profits, and the retaining of core Napa Valley "small-town values" as the population increases. The next question regards how the arts might address some of these issues, and this really is the big question. Although this initiative is designed to strengthen the arts sector, it ideally will strengthen Napa County as a whole, and serve as a bridge between disparate populations, creating conversations between residents and groups that might not have happened were we not in this process.
I am so grateful to all of the volunteers who are helping us in this early, critical phase, and every day I'm learning something new about this arts community.
During our first volunteer meeting, we had yet another brainstorm session, and also assigned various duties to everyone present. The pictures from that meeting aren't the most flattering, but we've decided to post them anyway. This first pic is during the brainstorm session, when one person or another would call out "what about that potter who sells work at the Model Bakery?" or "I heard an incredible guitar trio at a festival this summer" and all of it is recorded and then assigned to a volunteer sleuth to find the artists.
And just in case you don't think this process sounds fun, I've got pictures to prove otherwise:
I don't generally keep my eyes closed when speaking passionately about the arts, but it happens. Kate says it looks as though we are at a party, rather than a meeting; it's my hope that all volunteer meetings are as fun as they are rewarding.
Morrie and I have also been busily conducting one-on-one "Discovery Interviews" across the valley, and the process has been fascinating. The first question of the interview is "What do you see as the major issues (of any type) facing this community?" and the responses have been telling- and there are many themes. The strongest one I see so far is the divide between the Latino and Anglo populations. Other issues include, of course, traffic, land use, the high number of non-profits, and the retaining of core Napa Valley "small-town values" as the population increases. The next question regards how the arts might address some of these issues, and this really is the big question. Although this initiative is designed to strengthen the arts sector, it ideally will strengthen Napa County as a whole, and serve as a bridge between disparate populations, creating conversations between residents and groups that might not have happened were we not in this process.
I am so grateful to all of the volunteers who are helping us in this early, critical phase, and every day I'm learning something new about this arts community.
Monday, February 5, 2007
The Beginning
Welcome to Arts Council Napa Valley's Cultural Planning Blog!
In this forum, you will be able to follow the process as we create a Cultural Plan for Napa County. Considering the diversity of our population, as well as the differing needs & opportunities in each city in this valley, we face unique challenges in creating this plan. But we are also blessed with a wealth of arts & culture in this community, and we are excited about bringing creative people together and rebuilding our arts sector from the ground up.
I'm Michelle Williams, Executive Director of Arts Council Napa Valley. As the Project Manager for the Cultural Plan, I will do much of the writing for this blog; but I hope to have numerous guest posters, from ACNV staff, the Cultural Planning Strategy Team, and community members & volunteers who get involved in the process.
The first phase of this process is all about gathering data, or "shaking the trees", as Kristina (Program Manager for ACNV) and I have been calling it. Our first job is to create a database of all artists, arts education opportunites, artistic venues, and arts groups in the entire Napa Valley. It's a huge job, and more than a bit daunting, but we are recruiting a host of volunteers to help us not only find all of these people, venues, and opportunities, but to get them involved as well. The next step will be reaching out to the community, via surveys, interviews, focus groups, and "town hall" meetings, to discover what this community needs & wants from its arts. I'm anxious to get to that phase- to really get out there and "talk arts"- and I'm prepared to be surprised by what we find.
Our very first meeting with Morrie Warshawski, our cultural planning consultant, was incredibly inspiring, and so far we've been able to bring that excitement to everyone we've talked to about this project. So while this is indeed a grand undertaking, it is also something that will directly affect the health & vibrancy of the Napa Valley community, and that is one of the things that fuels all of us to really "show up" for this whole process. And considering we've been talking about doing this for years, to actually be in the thick of it is really exciting.
One of the most important components of this process is the creation of a Strategy Team. This team is going to guide us as we move through the phases, and ultimately will look at all of the data compiled through the discovery phase and craft the recommendations that will ultimately become the plan. I'm thrilled by the team that we've recruited so far: Calistoga City Councilmember Placido Garcia, who is a musician and long-time community member; Kathryn Reasoner, the director of the di Rosa Preserve and a veteran of numerous planning projects; Steve Gordon, artist and owner of the Gordon Gallery in Yountville; Nancy Garden, owner of the White Barn and longtime community member of St Helena; and Ira Wolk, owner of I. Wolk Gallery in St Helena, and ACNV Board member. I'll continue to build this team over the next week or so, and I look forward to working with all of them.
Our first big volunteer meeting is this Wednesday night, and our deadlines for the creation of the Strategy Team and the "Tree Shaking" are looming. Much work to do!
In this forum, you will be able to follow the process as we create a Cultural Plan for Napa County. Considering the diversity of our population, as well as the differing needs & opportunities in each city in this valley, we face unique challenges in creating this plan. But we are also blessed with a wealth of arts & culture in this community, and we are excited about bringing creative people together and rebuilding our arts sector from the ground up.
I'm Michelle Williams, Executive Director of Arts Council Napa Valley. As the Project Manager for the Cultural Plan, I will do much of the writing for this blog; but I hope to have numerous guest posters, from ACNV staff, the Cultural Planning Strategy Team, and community members & volunteers who get involved in the process.
The first phase of this process is all about gathering data, or "shaking the trees", as Kristina (Program Manager for ACNV) and I have been calling it. Our first job is to create a database of all artists, arts education opportunites, artistic venues, and arts groups in the entire Napa Valley. It's a huge job, and more than a bit daunting, but we are recruiting a host of volunteers to help us not only find all of these people, venues, and opportunities, but to get them involved as well. The next step will be reaching out to the community, via surveys, interviews, focus groups, and "town hall" meetings, to discover what this community needs & wants from its arts. I'm anxious to get to that phase- to really get out there and "talk arts"- and I'm prepared to be surprised by what we find.
Our very first meeting with Morrie Warshawski, our cultural planning consultant, was incredibly inspiring, and so far we've been able to bring that excitement to everyone we've talked to about this project. So while this is indeed a grand undertaking, it is also something that will directly affect the health & vibrancy of the Napa Valley community, and that is one of the things that fuels all of us to really "show up" for this whole process. And considering we've been talking about doing this for years, to actually be in the thick of it is really exciting.
One of the most important components of this process is the creation of a Strategy Team. This team is going to guide us as we move through the phases, and ultimately will look at all of the data compiled through the discovery phase and craft the recommendations that will ultimately become the plan. I'm thrilled by the team that we've recruited so far: Calistoga City Councilmember Placido Garcia, who is a musician and long-time community member; Kathryn Reasoner, the director of the di Rosa Preserve and a veteran of numerous planning projects; Steve Gordon, artist and owner of the Gordon Gallery in Yountville; Nancy Garden, owner of the White Barn and longtime community member of St Helena; and Ira Wolk, owner of I. Wolk Gallery in St Helena, and ACNV Board member. I'll continue to build this team over the next week or so, and I look forward to working with all of them.
Our first big volunteer meeting is this Wednesday night, and our deadlines for the creation of the Strategy Team and the "Tree Shaking" are looming. Much work to do!
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