HOULTON, Maine — Efforts continue toward the development of a Cultural Plan for the Tri-County Region of southern Aroostook, northern Penobscot and northern Washington counties.
The Regional Creative Council (RCC) announced Monday, May 1, that the group is in the next phase of the process. This is the quantitative data collection phase which involves surveying various segments of the area. Three surveys have been issued including a Public Opinion Survey, an Artist and Crafter Survey and a Cultural Organization and Creative Business Survey.
The Public Opinion survey is designed to understand what area residents and visitors think about the value, relevance and access to arts and cultural resources. The Artist and Crafter survey is designed to learn about the intricacies, needs and perspectives of creatives while the Cultural Organization and Creative Business survey seeks to assess the challenges, needs and priorities of creative organizations and businesses.
Surveys can be completed online at www.reinholtconsulting.com/tri-county. Survey hard copies are available at most town offices throughout the region as well as at libraries, businesses, and community gathering places.
The RCC was awarded three grants last year totaling $30,000 to hire a consultant for the development of the Cultural Plan. The grants were awarded by the Maine Arts Commission, Maine Community Foundation and the Betterment Fund. Reinholt Consulting LLC of Philips, Maine has been engaged to handle the project.
Saskia Reinholt, principal at Reinholt Consulting said, “Cultural planning provides a catalyst for the creativity that lies within every community. Much like land use planning serves as a tool for municipalities and regional planning entities to help communities guide future development based on a community’s priorities and values, cultural planning serves as a tool for communities and regions to develop and implement strategies to support a growing creative economy.”
The groundwork for this initiative was a combined effort by groups including the Southern Aroostook Cultural Arts Project, Cary Library, Houlton Community Arts Center Council, Houlton Higher Education Center and the Town of Houlton’s Community Development Department. It has grown to include organizations, artists, businesses and interested individuals from throughout the Tri-County Region.
“We’re excited to be a part of this process and to partner with so many other organizations and municipalities throughout this region,” said Nancy Ketch, Houlton’s community development director. She continued, saying, “we truly believe synergies will be realized through this collaborative effort. There is such a wide array of talent, knowledge and passion in this region, that we are bound to be stronger by working together.”
Linda Faucher, Cary Library director added, “Our Tri-County communities are rich with native culture, natural assets, artisans, museums and places of historic significance. Inclusive community engagement within this region will create a cultural plan providing a futuristic vision that will enrich community life and culture.”
The process for the Cultural Plan was kicked off in September with a launch meeting and three public “Community Conversations” that were held in Houlton, Danforth and Patten. These were designed to collect perceptions on strengths, opportunities, aspirations and realities of existing arts and cultural resources. The goal of the project is to document an inclusive study to find new methods to increase the reach, value and relevance of existing cultural offerings in the Tri-County Region.
The objectives include assessing the relationships and value of culture to leaders in government, business, tourism, education economic development and community development in the Tri-County Region to determine what potential new synergies might be explored with these other priorities; understanding what residents and visitors think about their access to, and the value and relevance of, cultural resources in the region to determine what could be done to increase the value of these cultural resources to the region; assessing what kind of image and reputation the region wants to have and how the arts and cultural resources in the region contribute to that image thus determining how existing arts and cultural resources can help create a positive image and creative brand for the region; and, assessing what place-making innovation is happening nationally to determine what strategies the region might adopt. The final result will be a strategic plan with the most realistic, valuable and effective strategies addressing all of the above to support Tri-County Region cultural development to determine what is required for sustainability and to develop a plan with solutions and systems to expedite implementation.
As the process continues, public meetings will be offered to share the data findings and initial recommendations. There will also be meetings for strategy recommendations and for the plan summary and finalization. Meetings will be advertised and regional involvement will be encouraged.
Further information on the RCC and Cultural Plan project is available at houltonarts.org or by contacting Ketch at 521-5938 or comm.development@houlton-maine.com, Faucher at Cary Library at 532-1302 or faucherl@cary.lib.me.us or Tracy Rockwell at the Houlton Higher Education Center at 521-3100 or tracy.rockwell@maine.edu.
