Wednesday, February 15, 2012

City seeking public input on cultural plan

City seeking public input on cultural plan
Chicagoans from all corners of the city can help brainstorm for the mayor's proposed Chicago Cultural Plan in a series of public meetings beginning next week, Michelle Boone, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, said Tuesday during a meeting of the City Council's Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation.

Boone said she expects the $250,000 cost of creating the plan will be covered by a combination of public and private fundraising. The Chicago Community Trust in September awarded her department a $100,000 grant for development of the plan, and she said $50,000 in city funding is also set aside for that purpose.

The city has hired the international consulting firm Lord Cultural Resources to help draft the plan. Boone said she expects to hold more than 30 meetings to gather public input.

"We don't need to have more information about what the Art Institute needs," Boone said in response to a question from Ald. Roderick Sawyer about bringing more cultural attractions to his South Side ward.

"We need to find out: where are these cultural deserts? And actually we might find and discover that there might be a real cluster of individual artists that have been working under the radar. So how can we help support the work that they do and really make it something more vital?"

Mayor Rahm Emanuel first laid out a vision for his Chicago Cultural Plan in his transition plan, and Boone's office formally announced the public information-gathering process Feb. 1.

The city hopes to release a report in May on the recommendations gathered in public meetings, said Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events spokeswoman Mary May, and the final plan will be presented in the fall.
I wonder what this cultural plan is supposed to consist of? If you want to know more visit http://www.chicagoculturalplan2012.com/ and we were also referred to this link over on twitter @ http://chicagoculturalplan.eventbrite.com/ by @ChiCulturalPlan hopefully many of you will be interesting in following this process.

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