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DELAWARE ARTS ALLIANCE KICKS OFF STATEWIDE INITIATIVE
Published August 8, 2023 |
Delaware Arts Alliance has unveiled a new initiative aimed at setting policy goals to benefit the state’s creative economy. At a kickoff event Aug. 2 at Milford library, the alliance announced the beginning of its creative economy and cultural tourism recovery and growth plan.
Setting the kickoff of the initiative in Milford was a purposeful choice, given the town’s slogan of “River Town, Art Town, Home Town.”
Milford Mayor Archie Campbell said, “Milford is a very artsy town, a very friendly town. We’re growing.”
Neil Kirschling, executive director of the alliance, said the idea for the plan came on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic with funding through the federal American Rescue Plan Act’s Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Program, which provides grants to advance the economic recovery and resiliency of communities where the travel, tourism and outdoor recreation industries were hardest hit by the pandemic.
“We are intentionally positioning the arts as an economic driver in this state. Not just to have beautiful things. We are putting people to work. We are producing things in this state,” Kirschling said.
What makes the plan unique is that it encompasses all manner of the arts, from painting to music to film, Kirschling said. The plan is to conduct community engagement efforts through October, which will include surveys and focus groups, with a plan unveiled by the summer of 2024.
Kirschling said the plan will include three deliverables: policies for state legislators to consider, a map of arts institutions throughout the state and an economic impact study. “We’re excited. There has never been so much alignment across leaders in this sector. Coming out of COVID-19, so many arts organizations were resilient and artists were resilient. Now people are looking around wondering what is next,” he said.
Delaware Arts Alliance is planning to go to events throughout the state to pass out surveys, both for artists and patrons. Kirschling said the approach is from a small business and economic development standpoint, with a hope to incentivize artists, encourage tourism and promote the growth of the arts among women and minorities.
Taking part in the plan unveiling were officials such as Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long; Rep. Bryan Shupe, R-Milford; and Jessica Ball, director of the Delaware Division of the Arts. “I want Delaware to be the No. 1 place where families move, locate and work. And I want Delaware to be the No. 1 place where artists move, work and raise their families,” Hall-Long said.