The Arlington Center for the Arts was the scene of a lively public meeting last week, “Arlington ALIVE”: Creating a Cultural Destination” – a town wide meeting and panel discussion aimed at positioning Arlington as a great local destination for the Arts.
The meeting was co-sponsored by the Arlington Center for the Arts, the Arlington Cultural Council, Arlington Public Art, the Arlington Tourism and Economic Development Committee, and Sustainable Arlington.
Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine spoke about the Town’s commitment to Arlington’s cultural resources and said the Town is excited to be part of recent initiatives to expand public art in Arlington.
Meri Jenkins of the Massachusetts Cultural Council spoke about the power of the arts to shape a community’s identity. A resident of neighboring Lexington, Meri said she often sneaks across the border to partake of Arlington’s many lively arts and culture opportunities.
Jan Whitted, owner of Art Beat the Creativity Store, and leader of the Capitol Square District, spoke about how East Arlington businesses have banded together to create the vibrant artsy Capitol Square District, which hosts monthly and seasonal community events.
About 100 folks attended the event, which culminated in a series of breakout sessions focused on next steps Arlington can take to grow into an ever more vibrant arts and cultural destination.
Top priorities named at the end of the evening were:
1) Centralized communication, consistent branding reaching a wide range of audiences from within and beyond Arlington
2) A Big Arts event to promote.
3) A leadership committee to help implement priorities
Stay tuned for a full report coming soon. Meanwhile, please post your comments from the evening so we can continue the conversation and inform those who were unable to come.