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[whitespace] Is the CAP DOA?

Goals are fine, but what if there's no one to implement them?

From the 1999 Cultural Action Plan for Santa Cruz County:

Overarching Themes and Recommendations

First Principle

The rich history and multicultural diversity of Santa Cruz County are great strengths, and the core of our community identity. All actions taken in support of arts and culture MUST equitably support all peoples of all ages to preserve and enhance this diversity for generations to follow.

Key Recommendations

* Invest in a geographically distributed array of renovated, existing and new community-based facilities to serve the creation, promotion, teaching, support and enjoyment of all cultural expression.

* Renew the mission and leadership of the Cultural Council as the primary agent to support and cultivate arts and culture in Santa Cruz County.

* Increase arts and cultural funding so that the arts for all ages and all peoples can continue to thrive and contribute to Santa Cruz County's unique quality of life.

* Create a centralized arts marketing infrastructure to promote the cultural community, develop local audiences, increase earned income, and lay the foundation for cultural tourism.

* Convene a countywide youth task force to recommend a system of high quality, year-round, consistent arts and cultural programming to serve children and youth of the County.

* Develop a new cultural equity policy statement to be adopted by key cultural organizations, as well as by other community organizations and institutions.

* Develop and provide consistent technical assistance and management support to artists and arts organizations.

* Implement existing plans and ordinances for public art in Santa Cruz County and the City of Santa Cruz, and launch advocacy efforts in other incorporated cities to create public art plans, ordinances and mechanisms countywide.

Specific Goals by Subject Areas

A. Leadership

1. Cultural Council's strengthened role

2. Stewardship of this plan

3. Need for unified leadership

4. Cultural leadership countywide

5. Strengthen boards of cultural organizations leadership

B. Funding

1. Explore broad public funding

2. Corporate/workplace giving

3. Strategic alliance with tourism

4. School investment in the arts

5. Percent for art

6. An arts endowment

C. Arts Education/Youth

1. Advocate for arts funding at state level

2. California Challenge Standards for the Arts

3. Excellence in arts education

4. Youth Arts Task Force

5. Review Cultural Council arts education structure

6. Arts in youth-serving agencies

7. Evaluation and assessment

D. Facilities

1. Develop variety of community-based cultural centers

2. Collaboration and sharing of facilities

3. Work/live space for artists

4. Community arts use of educational facilities

E. Marketing

1. Coordinated, centralized arts marketing

2. Arts marketing strategies

F. Cultural Equity

1. Arts support centers serving diverse communities

2. Technical assistance for artists of color

3. Cultural Equity Policy Statement

G. Creative Support

1. Increase Cultural Council's pool of grants dollars

2. Accessible technical assistance

3. Broadest access to the arts

4. Cultural information access

5. Marketing strategies for individual artists

H. Public Art, Monuments and Historic Preservation

1. Planning and advocacy for public art

2. Professional staffing

3. Consider countywide public art staff

4. Maintenance of public art and historic sites

5. Historic preservation

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From the August 16-23, 2000 issue of Metro Santa Cruz.

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