Boston creates draft cultural plan now available for public comment

Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the Boston Creates draft cultural plan is now available for public review and comment. The draft plan can be found online at www.bostoncreates.org. The public is encouraged to review the document and provide feedback before the close of the public comment period on Monday, May 16, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. The final plan, along with an executive summary, is due for release in mid-June.

"Boston Creates offers residents the unique opportunity to help us envision the cultural future of our city and I am excited that we have reached another milestone towards having a completed cultural plan for the city," said Mayor Walsh. "This thoughtfully crafted draft plan is the result of an extensive community process and I encourage everyone to review the draft plan and share with us suggestions and feedback so that together we can create a culturally vibrant and inclusive city."

The draft plan will outline the proposed goals, strategies and tactics to best respond to the needs and opportunities of Boston's cultural sector.  When the final plan is released in June, the process will shift from planning to implementation, both near and long-term.

To provide public comment, individuals will need to register for a free account with Medium, an online platform that will host the draft plan. Alternatively, individuals can read the draft plan without having to sign up for an account and share feedback via email at BostonCreates@boston.gov.

Boston Creates is Boston's cultural planning process, designed to create a long-term plan to prioritize, coordinate, and align public and private resources to strengthen cultural vitality in the City. Over the past year, the Boston Creates team undertook an extensive community engagement, holding three town halls, 118 community conversations, more than 80 focus groups and meetings, an online creative engagement participation survey and a crowd-sourced mapping of cultural assets. Using the data obtained through the process, the team worked closely with the Boston Creates Steering Committee and Leadership Council to develop the draft plan.

"The process so far has generated incredible energy, enthusiasm, momentum and indeed creativity," said Julie Burros, Chief of Arts and Culture. "We truly  believe we are seeing the beginnings of a culture shift in Boston, one that embraces and encourages greater inclusivity, collaboration, leadership and resources in support of the arts and culture sector. We are looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks."

For more information, visit www.bostoncreates.org. Social media users can engage with the process on Twitter using #BostonCreates or by following on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ArtsinBoston

Boston Creates is part of larger, overall vision for the City: Imagine Boston 2030. Under the leadership of Mayor Walsh, the entire city will work together to create the first citywide plan in 50 years. Imagine Boston 2030 will guide this approach to preserving, enhancing and growing the city's neighborhoods in a way that promotes shared prosperity, sound public investment, and a healthy environment and population.  For more information, visit http://imagine.boston.gov/