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.

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!