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
- GWRABA
- Greater Williamson Road Business Association
- 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
Make space for everyone
Priority 3: Getting there, and being able to stay
Publish accessibility information before events, not on arrival
ACOs
ACC, RAC
Short
Stewardship
Priority 3: Prove it
Publish economic impact data on arts investment
ED
RAC, RRP
Mid
Stewardship
Priority 3: Prove it
Publish progress publicly on a fixed schedule
ACC
CC, RAC
Short
Stewardship
Priority 1: Pay for it
Pursue corporate matching and planned giving toward an endowment
RAC
CofC, FAs
Mid
Bring people together
Priority 2: Institutions and neighborhoods in partnership
Put arts and culture on the City’s state legislative agenda each year
RAC
CC, RVARC
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 2: People know what's happening
Put listings in neighborhood newsletters, congregations, libraries, and community centers
ACC
RNA, RPL
Short
Imagine what's possible
Priority 2: Places to show work
Re-establish an annual citywide visual art show
RAC
ACOs, LAs
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 4: Everyone sees themselves
Reach communities the City’s programming has not previously served, and ask them what they want
ACC
CCS, RNA
Short
Make space for everyone
Priority 4: Everyone sees themselves
Recognize Black-owned businesses as cultural anchors
ED
CofC, DRI
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 4: Everyone sees themselves
Recognize salons, barbershops, and similar spaces as cultural venues
ACC
CofC, RNA
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 4: Everyone sees themselves
Record and preserve oral histories from Roanoke’s neighborhoods
RPL
CUs, RNA
Mid
Nurture what's next
Priority 1: Learning the craft, at every age
Recruit mentors from the communities the young people come from
RAC
LAs, RNA
Short
Stewardship
Priority 2: Run it well
Reduce administrative barriers to installing public art
PB&D
PW, RAC
Short
Stewardship
Priority 2: Run it well
Reduce the administrative burden of application and reporting
ACC
FAs, RAC
Short
Make space for everyone
Priority 4: Everyone sees themselves
Reduce the barriers that keep informal practitioners out of City arts funding
RAC
ACC, FAs
Short
Make space for everyone
Priority 4: Everyone sees themselves
Reflect neighborhood culture and local history in the work placed there
RAC
LAs, RNA
Mid
Imagine what's possible
Priority 2: Places to show work
Replicate the Grandin Village model in neighborhoods that lack a cultural hub
PB&D
ED, RNA
Long
Make space for everyone
Priority 5: Art reaches where it hasn't
Report investment by neighborhood so the shift can be seen
ACC
PB&D, RAC
Short
Make space for everyone
Priority 2: People know what's happening
Require a minimum lead time for City-supported event announcements
RAC
ACC, ACOs
Short
Nurture what's next
Priority 3: Working artists can make a living here
Require community collaboration where the work depicts a community’s story
RAC
LAs, RNA
Short
Bring people together
Priority 2: Institutions and neighborhoods in partnership
Restore and expand field trips to Roanoke’s arts venues
RCPS
ACOs, RAC
Short
Stewardship
Priority 2: Run it well
Restore neighborhood public art that has degraded
ACC
LAs, PW
Short
Nurture what's next
Priority 3: Working artists can make a living here
Retain young creative talent rather than exporting it
RRP
CUs, ED
Mid
Stewardship
Priority 1: Pay for it
Review and consider increasing the percent-for-art allocation
RAC
CM, PB&D
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 1: Cost is not the reason someone stays home
Review City funding for institutions to free access days and reduced admission for lower-income residents
RAC
ACOs, CM
Mid
Celebrate along the way
Priority 2: A city with something on
Run a citywide one-book reading program each year, stocked through the libraries
RPL
ACOs, RCPS
Short
Make space for everyone
Priority 1: Cost is not the reason someone stays home
Run a youth museum and gallery passport that rewards repeat visits
RAC
ACOs, RCPS
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 3: Getting there, and being able to stay
Secure Valley Metro service reaching arts venues at event start and end times
GRTC
ACOs, PB&D
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 4: Everyone sees themselves
Set representation expectations for City-funded public art and programming
RAC
ACC, CM
Short
Stewardship
Priority 3: Prove it
Set specific, measurable goals with named responsible parties
RAC
ACC, CM
Short
Make space for everyone
Priority 5: Art reaches where it hasn't
Shift a measurable share of arts investment from downtown to neighborhoods
RAC
CC, CM
Mid
Nurture what's next
Priority 2: The path from school to career
Show young people that creative work is a viable career
RCPS
CUs, LAs
Mid
Make space for everyone
Priority 4: Everyone sees themselves
Showcase artists who live and work in the region
ACOs
LAs, RAC
Short
Make space for everyone
Priority 2: People know what's happening
Sign the routes to cultural and historic sites
PB&D
PW, VBR
Mid
Stewardship
Priority 2: Run it well
Simplify permitting for small vendors at cultural events
PB&D
DRI, ED
Short
Imagine what's possible
Priority 4: Art built into the city itself
Simplify the process for artists and property owners to commission murals
ACC
LAs, PB&D
Short
Make space for everyone
Priority 1: Cost is not the reason someone stays home
Staff events with artists who invite people in rather than perform at them
ACC
ACOs, LAs
Short
Stewardship
Priority 2: Run it well
Staff the Commission adequately to implement this plan
CM
CC, RAC
Short
Imagine what's possible
Priority 2: Places to show work
Study comparable facilities in peer cities before committing to a model
RAC
CUs, RVARC
Mid
Imagine what's possible
Priority 2: Places to show work
Support a mid-size performance venue
ED
ACOs, RAC
Long