TITLE
Recommendation to request a brief status report from the Arts Council on Create Long Beach, an update to the Long Beach Community Cultural Master Plan.
DISCUSSION
In 1996, an unprecedented visioning and planning initiative involving hundreds of representatives from our civic, arts, cultural, education, business and community sectors created the first Long Beach Community Cultural Master Plan. The plan gave life to the aspirations of groups and individuals throughout the city, confirming the vitality of arts and culture among ethnicities, socia-economic levels and geographic areas. It clarified our collective sense of civic purpose and pride.
The Community Cultural Master Plan was also unequivocal about the integral role of arts and culture in our city's economy through employment and stimulation of economic activity. A vibrant arts and cultural community improves the quality of life for residents and attracts visitors to Long Beach in service to its businesses. Long before Richard Florida told us about the importance of a "creative class", our Community Cultural Plan had already captured our rich history of creative classes and set the tone for the next era of economic inspiration. The challenge lay in recognizing opportunities and marshalling resources from public and private sectors to transcend various industries and economies. This challenge has not changed over the years, but a new round of discussions and an updated Community Cultural Plan has our residents, businesses and organizations talking about the current status of the arts in our city and their fundamental role in our city's economic, social and civic culture.
Create Long Beach began with the partnership between the Arts Council for Long Beach and the City's Economic Development and Cultural Affairs Bureau. It is a ten-year plan framework developed through the participation of a broad-based steering committee, two dynamic community forums and several small groups meetings. It includes an e...
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