Action items
Key to abbreviations
- RAC
- Roanoke Arts Commission
- ACC
- Arts and Culture Coordinator, City of Roanoke
- ACOs
- Arts and Culture Organizations
- CC
- City Council
- CM
- City Manager
- CCS
- Council of Community Services
- CHS
- Community High School of Arts & Academics
- CofC
- Chamber of Commerce
- CUs
- Colleges and Universities
- DRI
- Downtown Roanoke, Inc.
- ED
- Economic Development Department
- FAs
- Funding Agencies
- GC
- Greenway Commission
- GRTC
- Greater Roanoke Transit Company (Valley Metro)
- LAs
- Local Artists
- PB&D
- Planning, Building and Development
- P&R
- Parks and Recreation Department
- PW
- Public Works Department
- RCPS
- Roanoke City Public Schools
- REG
- Office of the General Registrar
- RPL
- Roanoke Public Libraries
- RHEC
- Roanoke Higher Education Center
- RNA
- Roanoke Neighborhood Advocates
- RRP
- Roanoke Regional Partnership
- RVARC
- Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission
- RVTV
- RVTV Channel 3
- SC
- Roanoke Valley Sister Cities
- UWVBR
- United Way of Virginia's Blue Ridge
- VBR
- Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge
Celebrate along the way
Priority 1: Neighborhood events and festivals
Activate underused park facilities, including Highland Park’s stage
P&R
ACOs, RNA
Short
Stewardship
Priority 2: Run it well
Address the condition and use of the Roanoke Star site
PW
P&R, VBR
Mid
Nurture what's next
Priority 3: Working artists can make a living here
Advocate at the state level for legal and tax structures that let artists earn a living, including an artist corporation entity
RAC
CC, LAs
Mid
Bring people together
Priority 3: The arts sector working as one
Align Parks and Recreation programming with neighborhood arts goals
P&R
ACC, RNA
Short
Make space for everyone
Priority 5: Art reaches where it hasn't
Ask neighborhoods what they want rather than arriving with a program
RNA
ACC, PB&D
Short
Stewardship
Priority 3: Prove it
Benchmark Roanoke against comparable cities
RAC
ACC, RVARC
Mid
Nurture what's next
Priority 1: Learning the craft, at every age
Bring arts programming into senior living communities
ACOs
CCS, P&R
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 5: Art reaches where it hasn't
Bring museum and gallery programming out of their buildings and into neighborhoods
ACOs
ACC, RNA
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 5: Art reaches where it hasn't
Bring programming to shelters, housing sites, and service settings
ACC
ACOs, CCS
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 4: Everyone sees themselves
Bring varied and unfamiliar work into local venues
ACOs
CUs, RAC
Mid
Bring people together
Priority 2: Institutions and neighborhoods in partnership
Bring working artists into schools for residencies and workshops
RCPS
ACOs, LAs
Mid
Imagine what's possible
Priority 4: Art built into the city itself
Build around Roanoke’s natural setting rather than generic attractions
RAC
GC, VBR
Long
Make space for everyone
Priority 1: Cost is not the reason someone stays home
Build participatory art-making into community events
ACC
LAs, P&R
Short
Bring people together
Priority 2: Institutions and neighborhoods in partnership
Build standing collaborations with area colleges and universities
RAC
CUs, RHEC
Mid
Stewardship
Priority 2: Run it well
Clarify signage and billboard rules as they affect arts businesses
PB&D
CofC, ED
Short
Make space for everyone
Priority 5: Art reaches where it hasn't
Combine arts activity with food distribution and existing service touchpoints
CCS
ACOs, UWVBR
Mid
Celebrate along the way
Priority 1: Neighborhood events and festivals
Commission a community performance piece celebrating Roanoke’s rivers and streams
ACC
ACOs, LAs
Mid
Nurture what's next
Priority 3: Working artists can make a living here
Commission a local artist to design Roanoke’s voting stickers
RAC
LAs, REG
Short
Imagine what's possible
Priority 4: Art built into the city itself
Commission an ambitious work intended to draw visitors
RAC
ED, VBR
Long
Celebrate along the way
Priority 2: A city with something on
Commission and stage a play about life in Roanoke
ACOs
LAs, RAC
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 3: Getting there, and being able to stay
Commission artists to design planters and public garden features
P&R
LAs, PW
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 4: Everyone sees themselves
Commission artists whose backgrounds reflect the communities the work is in
RAC
LAs, RNA
Short
Imagine what's possible
Priority 4: Art built into the city itself
Commission light and nighttime installations
RAC
DRI, PW
Long
Celebrate along the way
Priority 3: Showcasing our own
Commission youth-led public art, including murals
RAC
LAs, RCPS
Short
Celebrate along the way
Priority 2: A city with something on
Connect arts programming to literacy work
RPL
CCS, RCPS
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 4: Everyone sees themselves
Connect youth arts programming to local history
RCPS
ACOs, RPL
Mid
Celebrate along the way
Priority 1: Neighborhood events and festivals
Connect youth arts programming to the outdoors
P&R
GC, RCPS
Mid
Nurture what's next
Priority 2: The path from school to career
Connect youth to local creatives working in the fields they’re interested in
RCPS
CHS, LAs
Mid
Nurture what's next
Priority 1: Learning the craft, at every age
Consider a jointly funded arts education position with Roanoke City Public Schools
CM
RAC, RCPS
Mid
Nurture what's next
Priority 3: Working artists can make a living here
Consider fewer, larger grants alongside small ones
RAC
ACC, FAs
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 5: Art reaches where it hasn't
Continue and expand neighborhood programs that already work, including Arts Connect Neighbors
ACC
P&R, RNA
Short
Nurture what's next
Priority 3: Working artists can make a living here
Continue and grow the individual artist grant program
RAC
ACC, FAs
Short
Bring people together
Priority 3: The arts sector working as one
Convene the sector regularly rather than only during planning cycles
RAC
ACC, ACOs
Short
Imagine what's possible
Priority 3: Reuse what's already here
Coordinate investment in districts rather than scattering it
ED
DRI, PB&D
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 2: People know what's happening
Coordinate scheduling among arts organizations to reduce competing dates
ACOs
DRI, RAC
Short
Bring people together
Priority 3: The arts sector working as one
Create a business sponsorship program with visible recognition
RAC
CofC, DRI
Short
Stewardship
Priority 1: Pay for it
Create a business sponsorship program with visible recognition
RAC
CofC, DRI
Short
Make space for everyone
Priority 1: Cost is not the reason someone stays home
Create a citywide arts pass giving access across participating institutions
RAC
ACOs, VBR
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 2: People know what's happening
Create a public art map and self-guided tour, in print as well as online
ACC
DRI, VBR
Short
Nurture what's next
Priority 3: Working artists can make a living here
Create a residency program for early-career artists from or educated in Roanoke
RAC
CUs, LAs
Mid