Cultural plan draft online for public comment

The cultural plan aims to align ideas, people, and resources around a shared vision and a comprehensive set of goals, strategies, and tactics for putting arts, culture, and creativity at the very heart of the life of our city.

In the spirit of transparency and accountability, the City of Boston posts draft planning documents online for public review – and the Boston Creates plan is no exception. We encourage everyone to read the draft document and provide your feedback before the close of the public comment period on Saturday, May 14 at 5:00 p.m.

Before you dive in, a few important notes:

• Please remember the document is a draft. The final plan will incorporate your feedback. It will include some new sections; share more details about implementation (we’re still planning some important next steps); and bring together beautiful images of Boston into a designed piece reflective of our vision for arts and culture.
• The document outlines proposed steps forward to best respond to the needs and opportunities of Boston’s cultural sector, as understood through the community engagement process. The proposed steps forward take the form of a vision statement, goals, strategies, and tactics. The goals and strategies are intended to align our actions over the next 10 years. The tactics reflect how we can begin to get to work, based on the current environment today.
• The proposed steps forward reflect the input and guidance of the Boston Creates Leadership Council, Steering Committee, the Greater Boston Arts Funders Group, and other stakeholders. These groups have been a critical sounding board for the ideas in this plan and what’s realistic and appropriate for Boston. Now it’s time to hear from you.
• At the Town Hall in March, you told us which goal areas speak to you the strongest, and where you would like to be a part of implementation. This document takes that feedback into account. Our success in implementing the plan depends on your support. Please let us know what tactics you see yourself in and how you can join us in carrying out this important work.

We are using the platform Medium to allow individuals to share comments and see what others have shared.  To share comments, you will need to register on the platform, highlight the text and leave a comment.  Alternatively, you can download a PDF version of the plan here and email comments to bostoncreates@boston.gov. 

The final version will be released in June and will guide our collective work ahead to realize this exciting vision. While it is still a few weeks away, the energy and excitement is evident.  We believe we are seeing the beginnings of a culture shift in Boston, one that embraces and encourages greater inclusivity, collaboration, leadership, and resources in support of the arts and culture sector.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Sincerely, 

Julie Burros